Kale Pesto

Kale brings winter to the table and into the jar

Königskind Kale Pesto is the winter-warm pesto made from fresh kale, high-quality sunflower oil, and authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, refined with cashews and sesame – handmade by Uwe König in his small gourmet manufactory in the Oberberg region. A Northern German insider tip for Pinkelwurst, pasta, and potatoes, with a fine splash of lemon and a hint of garlic.

The Kale Pesto from Königskind is a creamy, wintry pesto from the Oberberg region. With fresh kale, sunflower oil, authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, cashews, sesame seeds, lemon juice, a hint of garlic, a little soy sauce, spices, and salt, only a few honest ingredients make it into the jar – without artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, or flavor enhancers. Uwe König purées the fresh kale by hand and avoids any over-processing to ensure the deep green color and the characteristic, robust, savory taste are preserved.

Deep green, creamy, and with a robust, savory cabbage note

Once opened, the typical scent of freshly prepared kale rises – warm, savory, powerfully wintry, accompanied by the nutty note of the cashews and a fine sesame aroma in the background. The color is a deep, rich dark green with golden-yellow oil shimmers; the consistency is creamy and velvety with a slight graininess from the finely ground cashews and sesame. Freshly picked kale requires at least 2 hours of pre-processing before it goes into the pesto – that is craftsmanship.

On the tongue, the pesto begins with the full, mature cabbage aroma – soft, mild, and seasoned, with an almost buttery depth. Then the cashews come in with their gentle, sweet nuttiness, followed by the Parmigiano Reggiano with its salty, umami flavor and a hint of garlic. The soy sauce adds a subtle umami accent, while the lemon juice provides freshness. A pesto that is unexpected – soft and mild, with a distinct Northern German character.

With Pinkelwurst, with pasta, and on roasted potatoes

The Kale Pesto is the Northern German answer to classic pestos. It is particularly lovely with Pinkelwurst – the regional specialty from Bremen and Oldenburg that traditionally belongs with kale. A generous spoonful of pesto next to the hot Pinkelwurst, a few floury potatoes, and a dollop of mustard – and you have a winter plate that tells the story of the whole region at once.

The most hearty form is with pasta: stir 3 tablespoons of pesto into warm linguine or tagliatelle, add a little pasta water to make the sauce silky, top with a little grated Parmigiano – in 10 minutes, you have a pasta dish on the table that surprises guests because it feels classically Italian yet stands on a wintry foundation. The pesto is also a delight with pan-fried gnocchi with a pinch of nutmeg or with linguine and 50g of roasted bacon.

In everyday cooking, it has broader uses: Kale Pesto on roasted oven potatoes with a dollop of sour cream, on hearty farmhouse bread with a piece of mature cheese, or as a dip for warm pretzels. As a sauce for quick-seared dishes – such as beef fillet, pork chops, or chicken breast – the pesto performs surprisingly well. You can find other pestos from the Königskind kitchen with the spring-fresh Wild Garlic Pesto and the autumn-rich Porcini Pesto. More can be found in our Königskind collection.

Königskind Genussmanufaktur – with a Northern German heart in the Oberberg region

The Königskind gourmet manufactory is the passion project of Uwe König and his wife Sabine. What started as a hobby in their home kitchen in 2005, the couple expanded into a full-time business in 2014 due to the growing demand for their pestos, chutneys, and mustards. To this day, all Königskind products are cooked in the kitchen under the Ziegenbusch in Wiehl – everything is done by hand, in manageable quantities, and with the care that only a small family manufactory can provide.

The Kale Pesto is a small Königskind specialty: Uwe König has combined the Northern German tradition of kale with Italian pesto technique to create a product that is rarely found elsewhere in this form. He uses only fresh kale and authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, and consistently avoids artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and flavor enhancers. The Kale Pesto is part of the Königskind seasonal line – alongside the spring-fresh Wild Garlic Pesto and the autumn-rich Porcini Pesto, it completes the pesto assortment for the whole year.