This recipe makes more pesto than you will need, but the leftovers will not go to waste. Try adding a spoonful to scrambled eggs, mix with mayonnaise for a sandwich spread, toss with some hot pasta and pasta cooking water or even stir a bit into your favorite brothy soup.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 35 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Inactive: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 small bunch kale (about 12 ounces)
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 4 center-cut bone-in pork chops, about 3/4 inch thick (2 pounds total)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed with your fingers
- 1 small clove garlic, quartered
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Baked potato or soft polenta, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler. Strip the kale leaves from the tough stems and discard the stems. Toss the leaves on a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and spread them out in an even layer. Broil the greens, stirring once or twice until they turn a brighter green with bits of charred leaves, about 4 minutes. Stir in the walnuts and broil until the walnuts are fragrant but not burned, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool. Sprinkle both sides of the chops with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the rosemary. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 145 degrees F, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. While the chops are cooking, pulse the garlic and the cooled kale and walnuts in a food processor until chopped. Add the pepper flakes, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and continue to process to make a slightly chunky pesto. Adjust the consistency as desired with up to 1/4 cup water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top each pork chop with about 2 tablespoons of the pesto and serve with a baked potato or soft polenta.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 890 |
| Total Fat | 69 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 22 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 49 g |
| Cholesterol | 137 mg |
| Sodium | 928 mg |
Reviews
LOVE the pesto- and to think it’s kale and good for you. Delicious on baked potato and pork chop. Am excited there’s extra. What shall I put it on next?!
The kale walnut pesto was delicious on grilled pork chops! Made it the day before our dinner party and guests loved it! Would do well on grilled chicken as well I think.
My kids really enjoyed this!
Pesto was delicious. Surprisingly good with the pork! Maybe use a little more seasoning and flour next time with the porkchops. Great recipe tho, I enjoyed it.
This recipe was amazing. I did not have kale so I used spinach. We used the extra pesto on homemade garlic bread. So good.
Pork was super tasty. Kale “pesto” was good not great. Not a huge fan of the walnuts. I think next time I’ll use pine nuts. I served with a baked potato and Parmesan covered zucchini I boiled and threw under the broiler to brown.
This recipe was great! It was very easy to make and the pesto was delicious. I’ll definitely be making this again!