Cavolo nero pesto

A delicious, super-nutritious alternative pesto, made with cavolo nero, Pecorino and garlic - great stirred through pasta, veggies and whole grains or spread on sandwiches and burgers.

Servings: 6

Ingredients

300 g cavolo nero
50 g cold-pressed olive oil or more as desired
75 g Pecorino Romano finely grated
1-2 cloves garlic crushed
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
lots of freshly ground black pepper I used about 1 teaspoon

Instructions

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Remove the cavolo nero leaves from its stems - hold the bottom of the stem and strip the leaves away with your other hand. Blanch leaves for about 3 minutes, then drain.
Transfer the leaves to a food processor and blend together with the olive oil, adjusting as desired and scraping down if necessary, until the pesto is uniformly puréed. Add the Pecorino, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, altering the quantities to taste, blending again so it's thoroughly combined.

Notes

If you are stirring through pasta or veggies, add the pesto when the food it hot and let it heat through for a couple of minutes - this will soften the raw bite of the garlic and give the flavours a chance to properly meld. If you are using in smaller quantities on a burger or sandwich, this is less important as it functions more as a strong seasoning spread.