Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto is a wonderful sauce to make in the fall and winter months. It’s quite versatile, but especially delicious when paired with fresh linguine, creamy burrata and toasted breadcrumbs.
My morning was shaping up to be one of those mornings. My internet has been intermittent to nonexistent for the last few days, and when I finally got around to calling them this morning I spent the better part of an hour on hold or being given the trouble shooting run around. And it still doesn’t work! They’re sending someone out tomorrow, so it looks like I’ll be spending one more day sapping internet connection from my phone.
But it’s ok! It’s first world problems, right? And no need to let a wobbly start set the tone for the day. Moving on! Plus I’m more than happy to tether my Iphone to my laptop for an internet connection until my data usage is completely depleted if it means I can finally share this Linguine with Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto with you.
I’ve been meaning to get this recipe out for a couple of weeks now, but you know…those pesky first world problems keep getting in the way.
This time of year pumpkins are ubiquitous, and I’m certainly not immune to their fall charm (see my Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and Pumpkin Sage Hummus recipes for proof of that), but I love making things with pumpkin seeds as well. I recently developed, styled and shot a few recipes featuring pumpkin seeds as the star ingredient for our local paper, where I’m a food contributor, and this was one of them.
This Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto is not much different to prepare from traditional pesto. The pumpkin seeds stand in for the pine nuts and in addition to fresh herbs, I like to add a handful of kale leaves, blanched to shock their vibrant green hue, for extra nutrition.
Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto is super versatile, just like other pestos. Use it to top meat, fish or vegetables, spread it on a sandwich, or use as a pizza sauce. You can even mix it into bread dough, which I haven’t tried, but thinking I need to ASAP.
My favorite way to enjoy this Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto, however, is tossed with fresh linguine, and topped with dollops of hand torn burrata and toasted, seasoned breadcrumbs. If you’ve never added breadcrumbs to your pasta before, you must! It’s a total game changer. Sometimes I toast a batch of breadcrumbs in a small cast iron pan with a little olive oil, fresh grated garlic, lemon zest, dried oregano and basil (and salt and pepper, of course) to keep on hand for easy sprinkling on dishes like this Linguine Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto.
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Linguine with Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto, Burrata and Breadcrumbs
Pumpkin Seed Kale Pesto is a wonderful sauce to make in the fall and winter months. It’s quite versatile, but especially delicious when paired with fresh linguine, creamy burrata and toasted breadcrumbs.
Ingredients
For the Pesto:
- 1 bunch of kale hard stems removed and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds or pepitas plus more for garnish
- 1 cup fresh cilantro or basil leaves plus more for garnish
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Pasta:
- 8 ounces linguine cooked until al dente and drained (reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water)
- 4 ounces burrata
- 1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Place kale leaves into a pot of boiling water. Cook for about 1 minute, then drain and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and shock the leaves to remain a vibrant shade of green. Drain and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible.
- Place kale, garlic, pumpkin seeds and herbs into a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. With the motor still running, add the olive oil in a steady stream. Add the lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper and pulse once more.
Transfer linguine to a pot over medium-low heat. Toss with approximately 1 cup of pumpkin seed kale pesto. Add starchy pasta water as necessary to help evenly distribute the sauce. When pasta is warmed through, divide evenly amongst bowls. Top with burrata, breadcrumbs, pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs. Dollop with additional remaining pesto, if desired.
Recipe Notes
To cut down on the cost of the pesto, you could also use parsley as an herb.
The pictures are VERY editorial! While I’m interested, it does look a bit intimidating to me. I think I would get over it and try it despite my reservations.
Thanks! Food photography and styling is my favorite part about blogging 🙂 Please don’t be intimidated to try this! This whole recipe only takes about 20 minutes, and pumpkin seed pesto is no more difficult to make than regular basil pesto, I promise!
this totally sounds like my type of dish – i love anything seasonal like pumpkin too!
Totally, bring on all the pumpkin, squash and apples!
First, this looks amazing! Second, I live in SLO and am super excited to read your bio that you have a restaurant in SB. My husband and I will have to make a trip and come check it out.
Krissy | https://www.thoughtfullyunraveled.com
That’s awesome that you’re so close! I don’t own a restaurant actually, my company offers event catering and private chef services- but my husband is in the beginning stages of opening an artisan donut shop in SB, so hopefully soon you can come check that out!