Dandelion Green and Walnut Pesto

You may not be eating dandelion greens but you should consider adding them to your diet. They are high in vitamins and phytonutrients and are reported to help fight cancer. I got mine from our organic CSA but I think they are the same thing that grows in my yard. At least they look the same but I am not a gardener. Rose if you know please comment and enlighten us all; I would like to know if they are the same since it is the one plant that I seem to grow well. ;)

In addition to fighting cancer dandelion greens are also reported to reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol and help with diabetes. Check out the nutrition of dandelion greens at nutrition data.

For those of you that haven’t tasted dandelion greens they are slightly bitter, like arugula. They are great in soups, salads and pesto. Today I decided to make a dandelion green and walnut pesto and here is what I did.

Dandelion Green and Walnut Pesto
Makes approximately 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 bunch dandelion greens (about 2 cups loosely packed)
½ cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 lemon, zested and juiced
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Drop everything in the food processor and pulse to combine. Refrigerate until needed.

Nutritional Information is for 1 tablespoon:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 29.9
Calories From Fat (69%) - 20.63

Total Fat - 2.47g
Saturated Fat - 0.22g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 36.95mg
Potassium - 53.26mg
Total Carbohydrates - 1.84g
Fiber - 0.69g
Sugar - 0.42g
Protein - 0.86g

Comments:

This pesto would work well on veggie burgers, on a sandwich in place of mayo or as I am going to use it tonight to dress a potato salad Genovese style.

The flavor is mild with the lemon being the most prominent in my opinion. You can add more garlic if you choose, or include fresh spinach if you find the dandelion flavor to be too assertive. Either way this pesto packs a nutritional punch from the dandelion greens and walnuts. One tablespoon of pesto contains over 1900 IU’s of Vitamin A, and 47 mcg’s of Vitamin K.