Ingredients
4 cups packed celery leaves (160g)
½ cup pistachios (70g)
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano (100g)
1 lemon zest
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (60g)
¼ tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
Summary
Pesto made from celery leaves is a revelation! The magic is that unlike basil, which can look a little brown-tinged and ho-hum after a while, celery leaves keep their bright vibrant green!
Recipe, words and photos by Samantha Cross
*This recipe is particularly helpful for bulk celery lovers who might buy several for juicing, or a whole box of 8 as I often do! I usually juice about 3 heads of celery when the bulk box arrives, which will yield approximately 1 litre of celery juice and 4 cups of celery leaves to use for the pesto. Reduce this recipe if processing a single bunch of celery, or swap out the difference with a make-do mix of leaves like parsley, kale or carrot tops.
Celery leaf pesto
Wash and dry the celery leaves. Rub any skin off the pistachios using a clean tea towel. Cut the parmesan into smaller chunks. Add the parmesan pieces and pistachios into the bowl of a food processor and whizz to crumbs.
Add the celery leaves, pistachios and lemon zest (plus garlic if using) and pulse to a thick paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl intermittently. Use some of the olive oil to help the paste along if required. Keep adding olive oil a little at a time until you have the desired pesto consistency. Taste and add salt and pepper if you like, or more parmesan if you like a sharper pesto.
Spoon into jars, taking care to fill any air pockets, and leaving 1cm from the top of the jar. Pour a little olive oil on top for longer term storage and enjoy the vibrant pesto with pasta, as a dip with celery sticks(!), carrots and crackers, a scoop in a soup… the sky is the limit really. It’s a simple and tasty way to up your leafy green intake for the day.
Keep in the fridge for everyday use. Can also be frozen.
Hints and Tips
- Preparing jars: Wash a couple of small jars and lids (wash in soapy water, rinse and carefully half-fill with boiling water for a minute) then leave on a clean tea towel to dry. You can also run them through a hot dishwasher, or boil them on the stovetop for 10 minutes if you want to be extra squeaky clean!
- Alternative nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts or macadamias would be delicious. I use pistachios to add to the green color, just ensure you don’t soak the pistachios as the water contact adds a funny taste.
- I don’t tend to use the garlic, but it does add an extra flavour dimension, plus some health benefits.
