Lush green pastures

When it comes to food, going green is easy. And the easiest way of all is pesto. The great thing about pesto is that you can put pretty much anything in there. If you are the kind of evil parent that likes to hide vegetables, for example, children seem to be completely in denial about the contents of pesto, and long may that continue (we are all in this together - you do NOT want to be the one who lets the cat out of the bag...). More importantly, if you are a busy (or dare I say, lazy) person of a green persuasion, pesto is one of the quickest things around to prepare, provided you have a food processor ready and waiting. Green, quick, easy and vegetably, what more could you possibly want?

I owe this particular foray into the wonderful world of pesto to Jamie Oliver Magazine, which I often pick up when I pass through England. Jamie Oliver is now an institution in the UK, and pretty well known in the US too, thanks to his efforts to improve healthy eating. He isn't always my favorite British chef - too many vague instructions in the recipes for a rule-follower like myself (how much is a 'glug' of olive oil, for heavens' sake!), but that kind of vagueness is never a problem when it comes to pesto.


Rotini with Kale and Almond Pesto
Serves 6

6 oz roughly chopped curly kale (I used a bag of pre-chopped kale, stems and all)
2 oz almonds
1 garlic clove
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup basil leaves
olive oil
2 oz grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
1 lb wholewheat rotini

1. Blanch the kale in a large pot of boiling salted water for 3 minutes, and then drain in a colander.
2. Cook the pasta according to directions. When draining the pasta, reserve some of the cooking liquid and set aside.
3. Once it is cool enough to handle, squeeze the remaining liquid out of the kale, and put into the bowl of a food processor.
4. Add the almonds, garlic, lemon juice, basil and parmesan, and pulse to combine. Start slowly pouring olive oil into the food processor while it spins, until the pesto is smooth and the desired consistency is reached. NB you don't need the pesto to be too runny/oily, as you can use some of the pasta water to thin it out. See below.
5. Mix the pesto with the cooked pasta and enough of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to allow the pesto to coat the pasta nicely.
6. Sprinkle with additional parmesan to serve.