I love pesto. It's delicious, healthy and relatively easy to make. I've made a Spinach Pesto and a Vegan Kale Pesto on top of the "usual" basil pesto. I, by far, like the greens pestos more than basil pesto. So, when I got a bunch of rainbow chard in my CSA box recently, I knew I could make a better than basil pesto. Plus, it'll be pretty because of those lovely magenta stalks.
I'd also just received my beautiful KitchenAid Hand Blender in the mail, so that made it an easy choice.
Better than Basil Rainbow Chard Pesto
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
8 ounces rainbow chard
1/4 cup olive oil (like this)
2 cups walnuts
1 1/2 cups Parmesan
Method
Place all ingredients in a blender or blend with a stick blender.
Heat for 10 minutes, or until heated through, on stove-top and serve.
Instant Pot Method
Place all ingredients, except Parmesan, in your instant pot.
Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, allow for natural release.
Add Parmesan and cook on saute mode for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
Blend.
Serve over pasta of choice.
The Results
This might just be my favorite pesto so far. It's definitely better than basil. I love pesto made with greens and it was so stupid simple to make it in the KitchenAid hand blender. I love that thing. It's definitely worth the $130 to buy it since it's like a portable food processor.
Perfect for small kitchens, too. It's so fun to experiment with CSA vegetables. I think you could really make pesto with just about any greens as long as you adjust the seasoning accordingly. And the biggest bonus is that, as long as you use what's in season, it's always going to be less expensive than buying a load of basil and pine nuts.
This post shared at Gallery of Favorites, Fresh Bites Friday, Friday Favorites, Frugal Fridays and I'm Lovin' It.
Rainbow Chard Pesto
You're going to love this super healthy better than basil rainbow chard pesto! It's easy to make with ingredients you already have and it tastes wonderful!
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 onion
- 8 ounces rainbow chard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups Parmesan
Instructions
- Place all ingredients, except Parmesan, in your instant pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, allow for natural release.
- Add Parmesan and cook on saute mode for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
- Blend.
- Serve over pasta of choice.
