Turn your extra greens into a delicious pesto salad. It’s a great way to switch things up in the spring when your fridge is filled with greens. Please note that collards are less bitter after they go through a freeze. If you use them before a freeze, you will need to adjust the other ingredients to balance their bitter flavor.
SOY-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, OIL-FREE OPTION*
TOTAL PREP TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE DRESSING
- 1 cup (36 g) fresh greens (collards, kale, arugula, etc.)
- 1/4 cup (30 g) pecans or walnuts
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) orange juice
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
- 2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil (*use water)
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (a citrus balsamic is a plus but regular is fine)
- Salt, to taste
FOR SALAD
- 3 cups (537 g) cooked white beans or 2 cans (15 ounces, or 425 g each), rinsed and drained
- 2 cups (360 g) chopped tomatoes
- 8 cups (440 g) lettuce, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a food processor, combine the fresh greens, pecans or walnuts, orange juice, water, olive oil (or alternative), nutritional yeast, and balsamic vinegar.
- Blend until the mixture is smooth but still has some texture from the nuts.
- Taste the dressing and add salt and more nutritional yeast or orange juice if desired.
- In a bowl, combine the white beans and chopped tomatoes.
- Pour the dressing over the beans and tomatoes, and mix well to coat them.
- You can either add the lettuce to the bowl and toss it with the dressed beans and tomatoes, or serve the dressed beans on a bed of plain lettuce.
- Serve and enjoy!
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
PER SERVING:
- 296 calories; 12.9 g total fat; 1.4 g saturated fat; 12.5 g protein; 37.9 g carbohydrate; 12.8 g dietary fiber; 0 mg cholesterol.
FANCY BEAN SUBSTITUTES:
- Cannellini, Flageolet, Christmas Lima
