Chard Pesto

The joy of living in this area is the availability of leafy greens year round, which makes this recipe even more useful for those of us in California.  However, after eating many a spinach pesto at Thursday Night Dinner, I decided to try my hand at chard pesto.  This is one of those recipes that pretty much requires a food processor, but it is well worth the trouble.

Ingredients:

1 bunch chard, washed with stems removed

3-5 cloves garlic peeled, follow your taste buds

3/4 - 1 c. almonds, blanched preferrably

1/2 c. hard cheese (Parmesan, Reggiano, or Pecorino), grated
olive oil, as needed
salt & pepper to taste

1.  Fit a food processor with the steel cutting blade.
2.  Place chard, garlic, almonds, and hard cheese in the bowl of the food processor.
3.  Start the food processor, as it runs, pour olive oil in through the spout until the mixture  becomes lighter in color and holds together.
4.  Stop the food processor to taste the sauce and scrape down the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.  You can also adjust the levels of garlic, almonds or cheese at this time.
5.  Run the food processor to incorporate the new seasonings one more time.
6.  Stop the processor and scrape the sauce out into a serving bowl or onto pasta, polenta or whatever it is you're eating this pesto with.

The Verdict:
5/5 stars
Best in class, but perhaps not best in show.  As a pesto, this sauce has zing and the freshness that greens bring.  I will definitely be making this again.