I received a lovely bunch of fresh basil in my CSA delivery this week, so I figured now is the time to attempt my first homemade pesto sauce. I played around with it a bit today and came up with this combination that I absolutely loved.

Ingredients

3 cups fresh basil leaves

2 cups of kale, chopped and stems removed

5 cloves of garlic, oven roasted

1/2 cup of walnuts, oven roasted

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice from half a lemon

Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

1) Peel and smash your garlic cloves. Place them on a cookie sheet and roast them under the oven broiler until browned, about 5-10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

2) Spread your walnuts on a cookie sheet and do the same as you did with the garlic.

3) Throw all your ingredients into a food processor or Vitamix and blend until you reach desired consistency. Some like it chunky while others prefer a very smooth pesto.

We enjoyed this with scallops and red peppers over spaghetti squash for dinner. Delicious!