Best Collard And Pecan Pesto Recipes

Grilled Vegetables with Collard Green Pesto image

Provided by Kardea Brown

Categories side-dish

Time 35m

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the cooking water
2 cups chopped collard greens
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons fresh basil
3 tablespoons pecans (about a handful)
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow squash (8 ounces), cut into planks
1 large zucchini (12 ounces), cut into planks
Lemon zest, for garnish, optional

Steps:

For the collard green pesto: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the collard greens and cook until the collards are bright green and tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the collards and plunge in an ice water bath to stop cooking. Drain.
With the motor running, drop the garlic through the chute of a food processor and process until minced. Remove the lid and add the collards, cheese, basil, pecans, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and salt. Pulse until finely chopped. Pour the oil through the chute and process until the desired consistency is reached. Add the lemon juice. Add 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the pesto if necessary.
For the vegetables: Toss the asparagus, pepper, squash and zucchini with half of the pesto. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill the vegetables until browned and tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining pesto. Garnish with the lemon zest, if desired.

Collard Green Pesto Linguine image

Provided by Sunny Anderson

Time 30m

Yield 6 servings and 3 cups pesto

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 pound bunch collards, ribs discarded, leaves roughly chopped
1 (13-ounce) box whole-wheat linguine
1/4 cup pecans
1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Blanch collards until bright green, about 1 minute. Transfer immediately to an ice bath to shock, saving the boiling water for cooking the pasta. Remove the collards from the ice water and pat dry with paper towels before transferring them to a food processor.
Add the linguine to the pot of salted boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, in a dry skillet, over low heat, toast the pecans until fragrant. Transfer to the food processor with Parmesan, olives and garlic. With food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until pesto comes together. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
To serve, put enough pesto to coat the pasta into a large serving bowl. Drain the pasta and quickly add it to the bowl. The water still clinging to the pasta will loosen up the pesto. Toss to coat. Add more pesto, if needed. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and garnish with Parmesan sprinkled over the top.