Radish Greens Pesto Recipe
This zero waste Radish Greens Pesto Recipe is an easy way to turn the “scraps” of your radishes into a delicious and versatile sauce. Use this the same way as you would traditional basil pesto on pastas, sandwiches, wraps, toast and more. This is a freezer friendly recipe so you can stock up your freezer and enjoy this for months to come!
Radish greens are not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about enjoying your garden’s produce. Usually it finds its place in the compost bin or fed to the chickens. Many people don’t realize that radish greens are totally edible. Not only are they edible, they are incredibly healthy for you and loaded with vitamins and minerals. These nutrient dense greens are very high in vitamin C, vitamin K, and magnesium. They are also a good source of potassium, iron and protein as well and have been shown to have many other health benefits.
You can eat them raw, but they are a little bit prickly especially the more mature leaves. You can also sauté them with some garlic and butter, which is always a good choice. But, now my favorite way to enjoy them is by turning them into a delicious radish greens pesto sauce. When spring arrives, my traditional basil pesto from the previous year is usually used up. So, this is a great way to stock the freezer back up with pesto until the basil is ready to harvest again.
Tools You May Need
The only equipment needed is a high powered blender and 5 minutes of your time. So let’s get to turning these would be “scraps” into a beautiful radish greens pesto!
Radish Greens Pesto Recipe
Equipment
- high powered blender or food processer
Materials
- 4 cups radish greens packed; about a gallon freezer bag full
- 1 lemon juiced
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil add more as needed to blend
- 1 cup chopped walnuts toasted in cast iron; can sub pine nuts or almonds
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients above to a high powered blender or food processer and pulse.
- Drizzle in more olive oil as needed to thoroughly blend all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon into a glass container and enjoy within 3 days or freeze for 3-4 months. Makes about 2 cups.
Notes
- Traditionally pesto is made with pine nuts, but they are really expensive. I find walnuts taste great as a substitution. You can also sub almonds or pepitas instead.
- You can also sub half of the radish greens for basil if you have it. You can also try different variations of this recipe using kale, arugula, or turnip greens instead of the radish greens.
- The cheese in this recipe is optional. I personally like a lot of cheese in my pesto, but feel free to adjust the amount of cheese to fit your preferences.
Now that you know how to use the radish greens, don’t forget forget about the radish root! Here are a few recipes to help you preserve your radish harvest…
I hope this gave you some inspiration on ways to use up your radish greens this year. Thanks for stopping by the homestead and God Bless!
