Luckily, January is a banner time of year for greens, and leafy-green herbs in our climate. If you planted greens like kale, mizuna, and spinach, and leafy-green herbs like cilantro and flat-leaf parsley in the fall, then they should be trying to outperform each other for your attention in the garden right now. If you didn't, there's still plenty of time to plant garden-ready transplants that will be producing by March.
And, if you don't have any room, visit one of our many farmers' markets for locally grown greens of all kinds.
January in my garden means an abundance of greens, which is just fine with me, since kale is probably my favorite vegetable. I can eat it in anything. Luckily for me, it is also ridiculously healthy. All vegetables lose nutritive value the longer they are cooked, so one of the best ways to eat your greens is raw. Unfortunately, I am not an advocate of kale smoothies (gross), but what I do love is blending raw greens into interesting winter pestos.
So resolve to eat more greens year-round, starting with winter pesto!
(I make pesto with twice the usual amount of garlic, so beware. I like a savory bite to go with the boldness of cool-season greens and herbs. Also, walnuts can be used in place of pecans in the following recipes, but I prefer the sweetness of the pecans because they compliment the spiciness of these greens and herbs well.)
Greens:
Kale Pesto
• 2 cups chopped & stemmed kale (Red, Dinosaur, or Siberian all work equally well)
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed (smashing helps release the flavor)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil to desired consistency (1/2 - 3/4 cup)
• salt & pepper to taste
Place kale, nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add Parmesan, lemon juice, then olive oil in a steady stream with the motor running. Add more olive oil as preferred and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Great on toast, pasta, or dropped into soup for a last-minute flavor boost. To store, place in a jar, and top with olive oil to prevent oxidation, then keep in the refrigerator. If you're overwhelmed with sauce, pour into ice cube trays, freeze, then store in the freezer in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. That way, there's individual serving sizes ready to be used in recipes at the last minute.
Herbs:
Parsley Pesto
• 2 cups Flat-Leaf Parsley Leaves
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• juice of one whole lemon •
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil to desired consistency (1/2 - 3/4 cup)
• salt & pepper to taste
Place parsley, nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add Parmesan, lemon juice, then olive oil in a steady stream with the motor running. Add more olive oil as preferred and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Nasturtium-Flower Pesto
Nasturtium leaves, flowers and seeds are all edible. I love their fluorescent orange color in winter and early spring, and the flowers make a visually-stunning orange pesto. This recipe can also use the green leaves, but I like a little variety among all the green pestos and sometimes make this peppery recipe for fun.
•2 cups Nasturtium flowers
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil to desired consistency (1/2 - 3/4 cup)
• salt & pepper to taste
Place flowers, nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add Parmesan, lemon juice, then olive oil in a steady stream with the motor running. Add more olive oil as preferred and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Additional recipes available with this article online at WhereYat.com. Enjoy!
