Grilled Vegetables with Collard Green Pesto

You can use any vegetables you want in this dish to clean out your fridge or make the most of local produce. Enjoy finding creative ways to use the leftover pesto.

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

Collard Green Pesto–

¼ teaspoon salt

4 cups chopped collard greens

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons grated parmesan

2 tablespoons fresh basil

3 tablespoons pecans

2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoons lemon zest

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

¼ cup olive oil

Vegetables–

1 pound asparagus trimmed

1 bell pepper sliced

1 yellow squash sliced

1 zucchini sliced

Sprinkle of Italian seasoning

Directions:

Collard Green Pesto-

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the collard greens and cook until collards are bright green and tender in about 2 minutes.  Drain and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking.  Drain.
2. Add garlic, collards, cheese, basil, pecans, lemon zest, red pepper, and salt to a food processor.  Pulse to chop.
3. Pour the oil through the chute while pulsing. Scrape down the sides.
4. Add the lemon juice and pulse.  Add 2 tablespoons of water 1 at a time to thin the pesto if needed.
5. Transfer to a small dish and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Vegetables–

1. Toss the vegetables with half the pesto.  Heat a grill over medium heat.  Grill the vegetables for 5-7 minutes.
2. Transfer to a serving dish and top with remaining pesto or lemon zest.
3. Note: I grilled my vegetables with a dash of Italian seasoning and olive oil spray.  Then I topped warm vegetables with the pesto because one of my sons has a nut allergy.  This also allowed my family to use as much or as little pesto as they wanted.