Cavolo Nero and Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Whenever I buy a pumpkin or squash I can never bring myself to throw away the seeds. They generally just sit in a bowl in the fridge, forgotten until my better half discovers them and suggests that maybe they’ve been there long enough, and that perhaps it’s time to throw them out. However, when I do get my act together, they get tossed in oil and salt and roasted for about 10 mins at about 180C. They end up wonderfully crunchy and tasty, a great snack as a healthier alternative to crisps. This time they got combined with the cavolo nero (or black kale) lurking in the fridge to make a lovely pesto. It required:

A good handful of pumpkin seed (toasted in the oven)
About 10 stalks of cavolo nero, or other kale
4 garlic cloves
The juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan, to taste
Sea salt & black pepper

Shred the kale leaves from its stalks and boil for about 4 mins until tender. Drain it and run it under cold water to stop it cooking further. Squeeze as much water out of the kale as you can. Place the pumpkin seeds in a food mixer and grind to a coarse powder. Add the kale to the ground seeds along with the whole garlic cloves (peeled) and blend them in the mixer. Tip out into a bowl, add plenty of olive oil until you have a consistency you like. Squeeze in the lemon juice, finely grate some parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice/salt/pepper/parmesan/olive oil until everything is balanced.

It makes a really nice winter pesto. You could add parsley or basil although I imagine the punchy flavour of fresh herbs might over-power the subtle but delicious flavour of the kale itself. We ate it stirred through pasta with a few late season tomatoes.