ZUCCHINI NOODLES WITH PISTACHIO KALE PESTO & CHERRIES

Steps:

• Place a few inches of water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Just before boiling prepare an ice bath [water + ice] in a mixing bowl. Once boiling place kale leaves in the water for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Remove and immediately place in the ice bath to halt cooking. Remove kale and pat dry.
• Place the garlic in your large food processor and turn on to mince. Scrape the sides. Add in the dried kale, basil, pistachios [cooled if you just roasted them], lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pulse about 20 times until well chopped.
• Turn the processor on and slowly stream in the olive oil through the top. Scrape the sides as needed and stream in more oil to reach your desired pesto consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and pulse a few more times. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.
• Place zucchini over a large bowl and use a julienne peeler [regular peeler for wide noodles, spiralizer, mandolin, etc.] to create the noodles. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top and toss to coat. Spoon pesto over the noodles and toss with your fingers or two forks to coat. Add more pesto as needed.
• Top with chopped pistachios, halved cherries, and a bit of lemon zest. Serve immediately. Best eaten right away [the noodles release a bit of liquid and soften] but it can be stored for about 1 day. Leave cherries and pistachios off until just before eating.