Purple Kale Walnut Pesto

Purple Kale Walnut Pesto Pasta

This was made using up my @oddboxldn goodies. Pesto can basically be a nice collection of what you have in the fridge. I had this stunning kale from the box that was screaming to be a yummy pasta sauce. Use code “NINA50” to get 50% off your first order. This is an amazing company if you haven’t heard that tackles food waste in the UK.

Ingredients:

GF
Serves 4
320g pasta
190g kale, just the leaves and remove hard stalks
100g spinach
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
5 tbsp lemon juice and zest of the whole lemon
150ml extra virgin olive oil (I used @fino_oliveoil )
2 tbsp red/white wine vinegar
Pinch sugar, optional
100g walnuts
60g grated @granapadano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Set a large frying pan to medium heat and add 2 spoons of olive oil. Then add the onion and fry for 4 mins before adding in the garlic. Fry for 1 min and then scrape onto a plate to cool. I sometimes chuck this into the freezer for ten mins for speed.

Boil a large saucepan of water. Blanch kale for 2mins and then add the spinach for 30 secs. Drain and add to a large bowl of iced water. This will keep the veg’s colour. When cold, drain and squeeze off excess water.

Add to veg and onion mix to a blender along with the olive oil, lemon zest/juice, cheese, vinegar, sugar, 80g walnuts and blend. Then add to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the nuts and pulse blend twice to just break the nuts. Scrape everything into a bowl and check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Cook your pasta and save about 100ml of the starchy pasta water.

Drain pasta and toss together with pesto and just enough pasta water to loosen. Sprinkle over with some cayenne pepper or chilli flakes for a small kick.