Cavolo nero pesto with hazelnuts and garlic

A truly delicious pesto, starring cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) with hazelnuts, garlic and parmesan. Quick to make, and fabulous on pasta, jacket potatoes and more.

We get an organic veg box delivered every week. I never know what’s going to be in it until it arrives. Sometimes, we don’t quite use something up, and then more of the same arrives in the next box. That’s when I find I have to use a LOT of something in short order…

I recently found myself with an extreme surplus of cavolo nero – aka Tuscan kale. The unseen hands of the veg box pickers and packers had delivered two big bunches, but no good ideas as to what I might do with them.

Just add cream..?

My default when faced with kale and its relations is to saute with onions/garlic and add cream. For instance this kale, smoked salmon and cream pasta and this gnocchi with cavolo nero and cream. Cream magically turns a humble, work-a-day veg into something luxurious and indulgent.

But we didn’t have any cream, and anyway, I didn’t really want anything so rich.

Another consideration had to be persuading my daughter Kipper to eat her greens. In fairness, she’s pretty good about eating veg, but leafy brassicas aren’t always the easiest sell. Then I had a brainwave.

Hey Pesto!

Kipper’s favourite food is….. PESTO! So why not make the cavolo nero into a delicious bright green pesto and serve it with pasta? Why not indeed.

It’s easy to get fixated on basil when it comes to pesto, but it’s perfectly possible to pesto-ify almost anything. Leafy vegetables, like this cavolo nero, are easiest but if you can blend it up with oil, nuts and cheese, you’re basically all set.

Making cavolo nero pesto

It didn’t take long to shred and blanch the cavolo nero leaves. Once that was done, I simply whizzed them up in the food processor with some garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and ground hazelnuts.

Although pine nuts are typical in basil pesto, you can use all kinds of nuts to bring out the flavours of your other ingredients. I saw the hazelnuts in the cupboard and decided to give them a whirl – their rich flavour was perfect alongside the strong earthy taste of the Tuscan kale.

Ingredients in Tuscan kale pesto

This delicious pesto is quick to make and only has a few ingredients. You probably already have most of them in your kitchen. It contains:

• Cavolo nero – also known as Tuscan kale
• Olive oil – use a really nice one for the flavour
• Garlic
• Ground hazelnuts – you can use whole hazelnuts if you prefer a coarser texture
• Parmesan – or other similar hard cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste!

Kale-y delicious

This cavolo nero pesto was, if I say so myself, utterly delicious. DH was raving about it – I can’t actually remember the last time he went into raptures over dinner like this. Even Kipper scoffed it down. 

We ate our cavolo nero pesto with pasta for dinner. There was a little bit left over, and the next day I had it for lunch, on some mini baked potatoes with cream cheese. It was also delicious! And fabulously green, too. 

This pesto was so tasty, and so easy to make. It will certainly become a standard way to use cavolo nero in this house. Especially when we don’t have any cream.

Makes 4 generous portions. 

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📖 Recipe

Cavolo nero and hazelnut pesto

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A delicious, nutritious pesto made with Tuscan kale, garlic, and hazelnuts. Quick to make, and fabulous on pasta, jacket potatoes and more.

5 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine European, Italian

Servings 4

Calories 306 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 250 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale)
• 3 tablespoon ground hazelnuts
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 75 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 35 g grated parmesan
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

 

• Remove the white 'ribs' from the cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) leaves. Wash the leaves thoroughly and shred them into 2-3cm (approx. 1 inch) strips.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Blanch the shredded cavolo nero leaves for 2 minutes, then remove from the water and drain well in a colander, pressing down with a spoon to remove excess water.
• Transfer the cavolo nero to a food processor and add all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper. Process until well combined, scraping down as required.
• Taste, and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
• Serve with freshly cooked pasta, on a jacket potato, or however you like!

Notes

You may like to thin the pesto with a little pasta cooking water if serving with pasta.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Cavolo nero and hazelnut pesto

Amount per Serving

Calories

306

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

29

g

45

%

Saturated Fat

 

5

g

31

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

14

g

Cholesterol

 

8

mg

3

%

Sodium

 

158

mg

7

%

Potassium

 

321

mg

9

%

Carbohydrates

 

8

g

3

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

1

g

1

%

Protein

 

8

g

16

%

Vitamin A

 

6320

IU

126

%

Vitamin C

 

76

mg

92

%

Calcium

 

208

mg

21

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword kale, pasta

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More delicious recipes for leafy veg

More delicious recipes using leafy greens include Sicilian-style kale with pine nuts, capers, currants and lemon, and gooey wild mushroom and spinach one pot pasta dinner.

I’m entering this lovely pesto into Pasta Please, hosted by KneadWhine and organised by Tinned Tomatoes, which this month is looking for recipes that are quick to prepare. This one’s ready in 10 minutes!