• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
LunaCafe

LunaCafe

Regional, seasonal food with original recipes by Susan S. Bradley

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Getting Started
    • About LunaCafe
    • About Susan S. Bradley
    • About James H. Bradley
  • Holiday
    • Christmas Cookies: Deck the Halls
    • Christmas Cookies: Silver Bells
    • Christmas Favorites: Silver Moon
    • Christmas Cookies: Starry Night
  • Fresh Primers
    • Apple Primer
    • Apple Cider Primer
    • Artichoke Primer
    • Blueberry Primer
    • Cherry Primer
    • Cranberry Primer
    • Lentil Primer
    • Pear Primer
    • Rhubarb Primer
    • Strawberry Primer
    • Winter Squash Primer
    • Cranberry Garnishes
    • Temperature Guide for Cooking
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home/Basics/Fava Bean Greens, Walnut & Orange Pesto

Fava Bean Greens, Walnut & Orange Pesto


This unusual pesto is enhanced with the earthy flavor of toasted walnuts and toasted walnut oil. Orange and lemon zest, plus a bit of spicy heat, lifts the subtle flavor of fava bean greens to new heights.

Note: Don’t over toast the walnuts, or they will add a bitter note.

½ cup freshly grated Manchego cheese
2 ounces (½ cup) lightly toasted walnuts (toasted 10 minutes at 350°F)

4 ounces (1 medium bunch) fresh fava bean greens, coarsely chopped.
1 ounce (3-4) green onions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 ounces (4 large) garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
1 serrano or jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and ribbed (use disposable gloves)
finely grated zest of 1 orange
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
½-1 cup toasted walnut oil
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

  1. In a processor fitted with the steel knife, pulse cheese and walnuts to a coarse chop.
  2. Add fava bean leaves, green onions, garlic, chile, orange zest, and lemon zest and pulse to desired consistency (chunky, smooth, or in-between).
  3. Add ½ cup of walnut oil, season to taste with salt, and pulse briefly to distribute. Add up to ½ up additional oil to achieve the desired consistency.
  4. Spoon the pesto into a container and cover with a tight fitting lid. Fridge until needed. Pesto keeps, covered and chilled, for up to two weeks.

Makes about 2 cups.

Cookin’ with Gas (inspiration from around the web)

  • busycooks: Top 5 ways to Use Pesto
  • COOKIE+kate: Pesto-Palooza! Ten Ways to Eat Pesto
  • Delicious Days: Pesto – Been There, Done That? Wait!
  • StartCooking: Ten Great Ways to Use Pesto
  • The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Uses for Pesto
  • The Purple Foodie: Why is Your Pesto Bitter?

Happy Cooking!

Copy­right 2013-2020 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2

Written by:
Susan S. Bradley
Published on:
March 17, 2018

Categories: Basics, Condiments, Nuts, Pesto, Spring Fever, WalnutsTags: early spring recipes, fava beans, fava been greens, olive oil, pesto, Walnuts

About Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. punytenant8081.jimdo.com

    May 21, 2014 at 1:13 am

    Je finirai de regarder ça demain

  2. Maryanne Tokich

    May 28, 2013 at 4:06 am

    Best pesto ever, thank you so much.

  3. Feast on the Cheap

    April 30, 2013 at 12:05 pm

    This looks so incredibly flavorful. I am such a pesto nut – no pun intended – I must try this rendition!

Trackbacks

  1. The Wonderful World of Fresh Pesto says:
    August 12, 2014 at 7:55 pm

    […] Fava Bean Greens, Walnut & Orange Pesto […]

Explore more

Footer

The LunaCafe

Copyright 2014-2021 | Susan S. Bradley. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2025 · Navigation Pro by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

  • Block Examples