Thai-inspired Chimichurri

I love kale.  Be it in stews or smoothies, it’s such a versatile and nutritious vegetable.  I had never eaten it before coming to Canada and grew to appreciate it pretty quickly.  Often, recipes involving kale call for the stems to be removed during prep and the frugal me would store the stems in a bag in the fridge.  I would use it up finely chopped in meatballs or fried cauliflower rice.  One day, I decided to make a Thai-inspired chimichurri as I happened to have all the necessary herbs, and thought of adding kale stems.  It was a success!  The addition of kale stems give it a lovely texture, almost pesto-like.

Ingredients (makes about 2 cups)

• 1 cup coriander leaves (packed, stems removed)
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves (packed, stems removed)
• 1 cup mint leaves (packed, stems removed)
• 1/2 cup kale stems, chopped
• 1/2 Vidalia onion
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger, peeled
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (My white balsamic vinegar is pretty sweet, reduce or omit if your white balsamic vinegar is on the sour side)
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 – 2 tsp sea salt

Method

• Place all ingredients into a blender/ food processor and pulse to incorporate and then blend until finely chopped and well mixed.