yogi recipe: raw, vegan kale pesto

November 3, 2013 by Ambika Yoga 5 Comments

I’m a HUGE fan of kale. When I was living with my parents I used to love to eat kale and mashed potatoes with gravy and sausage. When I became a vegetarian I ate the same dish with a vegetarian sausage and without the gravy. When I became a vegan I discovered there was lots more we can do with kale.

Nowadays I’m impatient for the first kale to arrive on the farmer’s market and I juice it, make kale chips, make soup with kale, make stews with kale and recently I discovered kale pesto. As kale is finally in season again, I bought heaps and did my first kale pesto experiment this morning. I must say I’m pretty pleased with the outcome.

Here’s what I used:

• Leaves of 4 kales stems
• 0.5 cups of raw, unsalted cashew nuts (but you can use any type of raw nuts you like)
• Olive oil
• Nutritional yeast flakes
• Pinch of Himalayan salt

I tried to make the pesto with my simple blender, but it didn’t work as there wasn’t enough liquid (despite 6 table spoons of olive oil), then I tried my small food processor, I had to first blend the cashews with the salt & some olive oil, take them out, blend the kale with the nutritional yeast and olive oil, then add more oil and add the cashew mix back little by little. I realize it’s time I buy a Vitamix…

However, the result is awesome! Safe it in a jar in the fridge and add some more olive oil to prolong the preservation. Add it on your sandwiches, with pasta, on a salad, with cooked wheat, whatever inspires you.

Kale is a Nutritional Powerhouse, it’s also member of the cruciferous family, just like cauliflower. Kale is known to be ‘dirty’, meaning sprayed with pesticides, so buy organic where possible.

Some health benefits of kale

• It’s high in fiber
• It’s packed with calcium and antioxidant vitamins A, C & K
• It’s a good source of copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus
• It helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.
• It’s a great detox food (cleanse your liver with kale juice)

Discover more vegan kale recipes here, here, here & here.

Sources

• http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale
• http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4408/Top-10-Health-Benefits-of-Eating-Kale.html
• http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38
• http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/food-weight-loss/6-things-you-dont-know-about-kale
• http://home.howstuffworks.com/kale3.htm
• http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/5-top-health-benefits-of-kale/