You know all of those kale recipes? The ones that say to use just the leaves and save the coarse stems for another use? Well friends, this is your “other use”.
The same way I collect stale tortillas for the eventual tortilla soup, I save chopped up bits of kale stems (and sometimes other stems) for this eventual pesto. Tiny little bags, all over my freezer. When I’m ready to make this, I mix them with freshly chopped stems so the whole thing doesn’t taste too “frozen.”
I just love making this in the colder months when bounties of fresh herbs are harder to come by. I added some parsley and a tiny bit of fresh basil that I had to use up, but feel free to play around with what you have.
The idea is from one of my favorite books, Tamar Adler’s An Everlasting Meal. If you haven’t read it, you should. It’s all about cooking with what you have, and not wasting food, not even the stems. (Or at least watch her Ted Talk, about “who is a clever chef”…it’s just so inspiring).
kale stem pesto
- 1 heaping cup chopped kale stems
- 3 cloves of garlic
- ½ cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts
- big handful of parsley and/or basil
- juice & zest of 1 lemon
- salt & pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- optional - drizzle of balsamic vinegar
- optional - grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
- Place stem pieces in a small pot and fill it with enough water to cover them halfway up. Toss in the garlic and a few pinches of salt. Simmer until the stems become knife-tender (about 20 minutes).
- Drain and let cool.
- In a food processor, pulse the cooked stems. Add everything else, drizzling in the olive oil at the end. Taste and adjust to your liking.
I never thought to use the stems for a pesto. What a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, for this morning’s harvest, the stems went to my goats but they won’t again. Thanks so much for the recipe.
I hope you enjoy it, Tonnia!
Wow! Just made this. Followed the recipe, and it is delicious! I like it much much better than pesto made with kale leaves!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Delicious! And that’s also the judgment of a friend who visited me and tested it on some crackers . It is an excellent spread foe sandwiches , and a good addition to soup (your mushrooms chickpeas and kale stew) . In short , it’s a keeper!
I’m so glad you both loved it!
I made the kale stem pesto and liked it enough to freeze stems for future uses. However, I thought it needed something. I added a tablespoon of Head Country’s Hot and Spicy BBQ sauce…. and couldnt stop eating! Thank you for this great recipe!
Made this today. The toasted walnuts and fresh lemon really make it sing. Going to have it on beef sandwiches tonight. Channeling Tamar Adler, now have to figure out what to do with the kale water.
The beginnings of a stock!
Put it in a vegetable soup!
Use the kale water to water your plants!,
I tried to make this and now all I have is pale green mush… 🙁
Is there any way to salvage this?
you could try adding more basil, olive oil, and/or lemon (and enough salt & pepper until it tastes good?). It’s texture is a little mushier than pestos that are made with just herbs. (Or I’m not sure if maybe the stems cooked too long and absorbed too much water?).
I love this concept! I hate throwing away food, and so often the stuff we throw away is the healthiest. You have me thinking. Perhaps beet and carrot top pesto would work equally as well? I will have to give both a try! Thank you.
I am in the middle of reading Tamar Adler’s “An Everlasting Meal” which I got for Christmas. After making kale chips, I was inspired by the book to put the stems to use…my first instinct was to boil them and toss them in pasta but I decided a quick recipe search couldn’t hurt. This recipe instantly caught my eye and as I read through the directions I saw the shout out to Adler’s book! What a great coincidence! Excited to try out this recipe!
Ha, what a coincidence, welcome! I love love love her book…
What a great way to use kale stems. I always just throwed them away…Not anymore! You guys are great!
I just made this and it is fabulous ……I used “raw” kale stems thou…..decided not to cook it just to preserve a bit more nutrients 🙂 or I was just too impatient LOL…….I threw in some parsley and basil too and than I panicked cause I only had about half a lemon in the fridge left (oh NO)……so I put in a splash of balsamic vinegar as u suggested, some Pecorino and voila!!……the most beautiful emerald colored pesto I have ever seen!….and the taste is divine!!…….Thank u XO
As I was chopping kale leaves for my salad tonight and tossing the stems in the trash I thought “it’s such a shame I don’t have a good use for these.” Wish I’d seen this sooner, but I’ll definitely keep this in mind for the next time I buy kale. Sounds really great and perfect for colder weather.
Thank you for sharing that TED talk. Awesome!
you’re welcome, I’ve watched it countless times, I just love her 🙂
What a good use for a part which is otherwise discarded! I have been wanting to read that book for some time now. Once I have some free time I am so watching her Ted talk!
This is great – I love hearing about new ways to use the parts of veggies we normally just toss aside.
Oh kale – your lovely little fellow. I’m working on a kale recipe at the moment as well, but your kale pesto sure looks delicious!
maan i feel bad throwing those stems yesterday 🙁 thanks for the inspiration to start my freezer baggies with stems.
oh please, no judgement, who knew? … the part I didn’t write about is that when I’m too lazy to save them I chop them up and feed them to the doggies… but I figure that’s a good enough use too 🙂
This looks so healthy and yummy! Such a great way to use up all of your food…Now if only I could find Kale here in New Zealand- it’s so hard to find!?
xoxo Amie @ Spoonful of Vintage
oh, that’s so sad! Surely you have stems of other veggies? 🙂
You are brilliant. Seriously. I have a goal to waste less food, so I could really use some recipes like this. And it looks amazing. I love pesto.
Thanks – but I’m not the brilliant one – I was just inspired by Tamar’s stem pesto concept and her entire wilty veggie cooking philosophy.
I’m also really inspired by this sort of feedback, so thank YOU. My mind just started spinning with other no-waste ideas…
Whoa! So cool and such a great use for them stems I always through away! I cannot wait to try it! 🙂
I love this. I always wonder about those tricky stems and just thought maybe they weren’t digestible? Good to know that they can be put to yummy use with this recipe!
yep, you just have to cook them for awhile until they soften up!