This Superfood Tangy Pesto is my new Favorite thing

Here's the recipe, and please TRY IT!

Hello friends!

I know you’re settling into the rhythms of summer. And if you’re like me, you look up and it’s 3 o’clock, you need something to eat, but you don’t feel like cooking.

I found this pesto recipe, which has become my new favorite summer snack.

I’ve said this before: a superfood isn’t a super-special exotic marvel. That’s good marketing.

Superfoods are the ones that are hidden in plain sight, widely available, and help us maintain consistently good health.

Stop looking for the miracle and start loving the mundane.

Pestos, are superfoods, no matter what recipe you use to make them. They combine all the best things:

something green

olive oil

sea salt

lemon juice

raw garlic

maybe some nuts

and maybe some delicious cheese

The recipes are just about idiot-proof; dump it in the blender or food processor and mix it up.

Done.

Simple, easy.

MAGIC.

And it makes damn near anything taste better.

I make pesto in the summer and spread it on crackers when I don’t want to eat anything, but yet I’m starving. Add fresh tomato slices or cucumbers and sprinkle with salt and pepper. OR, Everything Bagel seasoning.

Heaven.

This spring, I planted some Swiss Chard in pots and it did really well. Towards the end of spring, it was getting old looking, and something horrible called a cabbage looper started gobbling up the leaves.

I had to cut all the leaves at once and I had an abundance of Swiss Chard that needed to be eaten fast. This isn’t all of it, but look at how gorgeous! I couldn’t let it go to waste.

A quick Google search found this pesto recipe:

1 bunch Swiss Chard, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup green pitted olives

1 garlic clove, chopped

3 ounces good Asiago cheese, grated or chopped

2 TBS olive oil

salt and pepper

crushed red pepper flakes

BINGO!

And I happened to have all those ingredients but the cheese, so it was an easy target.

Now go back and look at that list. EVERYTHING on it is considered healthy and highlights the Mediterranean diet, which is my preferred way of eating.

Greens, we can hardly get enough of and Swiss Chard is very high in Magnesium.

Olives are wonder foods and you should eat 6-10 every day.

Raw garlic is gut bacteria beneficial, good for blood pressure…

You get it. They are all big players in their own right, but when you combine them, you get a SUPER FOOD.

And since you don’t have to heat or cook it, the nutrients remain intact. And the olive oil and salt retain the color and quality of the greens for days, keeping it bright, fresh, tangy, and perky. You don’t have to eat it all at once.

It’s like a hummus, only bright green and packed with nutrition.

I used Italian Olive Salad, which is a combination of olives, herbs, and giardiniera, which has a spectacular flavor on its own. You could use any green olive, the tart ones like Spanish Queen or the smooth and buttery ones like Castelvetrano.

You can’t go wrong.

It’s a great play on the traditional Basil pesto we think of, but creating a very different flavor profile. I make pestos of all kinds: spinach, kale, collards… and I’ve even made a Thai pesto with Thai basil, sesame oil and peanuts. It depends on what I have around, usually something in abundance that needs to be eaten up.

The Italians probably frown at us Americans, grinding up a bunch of ingredients and calling it a pesto. But, I like to think of it as a homage. The Italian villagers used what they had and made the most of it, now revered as traditions. We don’t have the traditions or the limitations, so we make things up.

Anyway, life is busy in the summer. On the long, hot days, I want a simple meal and a slice of watermelon.

I hope you try this recipe and make it your own.

With love,

Dr. Erin