Easy Healthy Kale Pesto - Budget Friendly Kale Pesto Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you get the bitterness out of kale pesto? ›

If the kale pesto tastes bitter, add 1/4 teaspoon maple syrup or honey to balance it.

Method. Put the pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, oils, kale and lemon juice in a food processor and whizz to a paste. Season to taste.

Homemade basil pesto is a wonderfully versatile and tasty sauce/spread made from a handful of flavorful ingredients. It comes together in minutes and tastes worlds better than store-bought because it's so fresh.

We found that lemon juice, which contains both citric and ascorbic acid, preserved the pesto's green color without compromising its flavor, adding just a hint of pleasant acidity.

Anything sugary will work: granulated white sugar, honey, fruit juices, even sweet dessert wines. Acid in the form of vinegar or citrus juices can make a pesto taste less bitter and could even enhance the flavour of the sauce at the same time.

The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.

Its scarcity, plus the fact that the plants are picked roots, soil, and all to ensure that only juvenile leaves make it into pesto, makes it extraordinarily expensive and something that only premium, artisan pesto makers can justify using.

As you would expect, pesto's wider variety of ingredients means it does slightly better in the vitamin and mineral stakes. Pesto outsmarts tomato sauce in many of these, but the pasta sauce still provides a sizeable chunk of your recommended daily targets.

Unfortunately, yes. Since it's made from fresh and perishable ingredients such as basil, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pine nuts, it will only last for a short period of time in the fridge. But with proper storage, pesto can last in the fridge for up to two weeks.

You'll want to be mindful of the sodium content. Some jars have more than 500mg per serving and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines recommend you eat no more than 2,300mg per day. It would be hard to stay within those guidelines if you get more than 20% of your sodium from pesto.

Why does homemade pesto go bad? ›

The cause of pesto turning brown, or grey is usually because the herbs have started oxidising. The best way to slow that process is to reduce the amount of time the sauce is exposed to air.

According to Cook's Illustrated, delicate basil leaves oxidize very easily, turning darker or even brown as they get exposed to air.

When you heat pesto, it's structure changes. The herbs become blackened and the oil changes. The sauce becomes almost bitter. So to answer your question, there is no recommended way because it is recommended that pesto not be heated.

The ice will shock the herbs and prevent them from browning. You can do this with any type of pesto with other herbs and greens such as parsley, mint or arugula. The ice will rattle in the processor at first, but will melt and break down as you pulse the pesto.

Use salt.

Salt is a friend to bitter greens, whether you plan to eat them raw or cooked. Mellow the bitter flavor with a sprinkle of salt on endive or radicchio, or include anchovies or cured meat (like bacon, pancetta, or proscuitto) along with mustard, beet, or collard greens.

Much like in onions and garlic, kale's bitterness is only formed when the vegetable is sliced, chopped, massaged, or chewed. When cells in a leaf of kale are intact, an enzyme called myrosinase and sulfur-containing compound glucosinolate are separated from one another.

The lingering bitter taste of kale can be a huge turn-off. However, adding sweet, sour, or creamy ingredients can mask the flavor. I use a combination of green apple, fuji apple, pineapple juice, and frozen ingredients such as banana and mango in this recipe. Fat also helps to mask the bitterness.