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Beet leaf pesto

Beet leaf pesto
Here's a pesto recipe made with beet leaves, where the pine nuts are replaced by roasted walnuts.

The result is a highly original pesto, with an astonishing pinkish-green color and a delicious little bitterness.
18 K 5/5 (1 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
duree20 min. difficultéEasy prix1.70 € pour combien250 g ingredients8 Ingredients
Keywords:
Last modified on: June 4th 2025
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For 250 g, you will need:
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Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Cooking: 5 min.
All in all: 20 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
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Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - ⌛ 1 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 1
Place 50 g walnuts in a small frying pan over medium heat...
Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 2
...and roast them, stirring regularly.

Note: You can also put them in the oven, but it's a shame to start your oven for such a small quantity.

Set aside and leave to cool.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 3
Wash then spin-dry 150 g beet tops, keeping only the leaves.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 1 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 4
Place the leaves in a food processor, sprinkle with half the 1 lemon juice, and blend for a few seconds.

If necessary, process the beet leaves in batches - we just want to reduce their volume a little.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 2 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 5
Add the rest of the lemon juice, the zest of half the lemon, the walnuts, 2 pinches vitamin C if necessary (to avoid oxidation and keep a nice color), salt, pepper and a little olive oil.
Stage 6 - ⌛ 3 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 6
Blend again, drizzling in more olive oil until smooth.

Check the seasoning and your pesto is ready.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 3 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 7
Place in a jar, pour a film of oil over the top, close tightly and store in the fridge.
Remarks
We don't use the stems, just the leaves, so there's no need to blanch.

The proportions are only indicative, so feel free to adapt them to the beet tops you have and your own taste.
Keeping: Several days in a closed jar in the fridge.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe30 RDI=10 %30 RDI=3 %40 RDI=6 %580 RDI=30 %2,420 RDI: 30 %
Per 100 g8 RDI=3 %7 RDI=1 %10 RDI=2 %150 RDI=8 %640 RDI: 8 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: Nuts, milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 250 g : 1.70 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Beet tops
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Walnuts
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