This recipe came from Erick Gamez. Erick was an organic farmer, and grew much of the produce for his restaurant, The Local Gest, at Elmgrove Farm.
Wilted Kale Salad with Pesto
A few words from Erick: “In addition to being one of my favourite meals, Wilted Kale Salad with Pesto has been one of the most successful meals at The Local GEST Restaurant. A Pesto without the cheese is a little bit lighter and cleaner for a lunch bite. Plus kale automatically makes you feel good about yourself. Once the salad is made, it keeps in the fridge for 3-5 days, making it perfect for big batch making and lunches on the go.”
What you need:
2 ½ Cup of Kale
¼ Cup Tomato, diced
¼ Cup yellow bell pepper, diced
4 slices Red onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp Almonds cut in half (as garnish)
½ tbsp Goji berries (as garnish)
1 tbsp of cold press olive oil
Sea salt (as condiment)
Pesto:
1 cup fresh basil leaves
3⁄4 cup olive oil
1⁄2 cup sunflower seeds
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
What to do:
Rinse the basil and kale. Leave to dry for about 5 minutes.
For the pesto, puree all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Remove the stem from the kale. Put it in a bowl and add the lemon juice and the olive oil, and massage until the leave get wilted.
Add 1 tbsp of the pesto to the bowl with the kale and mix it.
Top the salad with the rest of the ingredients, the tomato, onion, peppers, Goji berries and salt.
Keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days, and tastes best after marinating for a day to soften the leaves.
About Erick Gamez (1983-2018):
Erick Gamez was originally born in the north of Mexico, where he learned to appreciate the importance of local food. He studied graphic design and photography and worked in restaurants from a really young age. Erick moved to Toronto in 2007 and worked in the food industry for several years, developing The Local GEST Restaurant in Cabbagetown Toronto. He was also one of the organic growers on Elmgrove Farm, a beautiful piece of land located just south of Sutton, Ontario.
Erick’s objective was to make local food more accessible to the community, and help people to develop a better relationship with food. Erick’s Farm — The Local Farm — cultivated mixed vegetables, such as kale, spinach, arugula, tomato, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini, peppers, eggplant, and much more. Some of this produce was used in the kitchen at The Local GEST restaurant; more of it was transformed into pesto, salsas, pickles, jams and jellies. The produce could be found at The Local GEST Market Patio and Regent Park Farmers Market.
We miss you Erick!