This kale, garlic scape and walnut pesto is a great way to use up leafy greens! Great anywhere normal pesto is used. Ready in 20 minutes. Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, sugar-free recipe.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in the chopped kale and cook for approximately 4 minutes, or until the kale has softened and turned bright green. Immediately transfer the kale to a colander and thoroughly rinse it with cold water, then let drain.
Dry the blanched kale thoroughly, using towels or a salad spinner.
Add the garlic scapes to a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add the walnuts and continue to pulse until no large pieces of walnuts remain (do not blend completely).
Add the lemon juice, blanched kale, optional nutritional yeast, and sea salt, and continue to pulse until the kale is finely chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides and gently stir the mixture as needed.
If using the olive oil, slowly stream it in while blending. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Leftover pesto will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, and also freezes well.
Notes
If you don't have garlic scapes, you can try substituting 1 clove of minced garlic.