Tree Collard Pesto

We have some tree collards that have gone crazy over the winter, they are over 10 ft tall and very prolific. I don't know about you but I find the tree collards a little tough. Over the winter I made some soups and cooked the collards for a long time, perhaps 30-45 minutes.  I was thinking of ways to use a lot of collard greens and some preservation methods. Next time, I will try dehydrating the collards so we can use them in soups and stews. Today, I was inspired to make a pesto to serve with the white gigante beans I'm cooking in the solar oven. 

After a bit of inspiration via the Internet, this is what I did:

Collect 15-20 good sized  collard leaves, remove the stems, put in a pyrex container with a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and microwave for 7 minutes.  Cool drain and squeeze as much water out as possible, set aside. Put 1.5 ozs of romano cheese in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped set aside. Put the collards in the food processor bowl with 1/2 clove of garlic, collard greens, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, 2 T of olive oil, 1 T of fermented peppers, or hot sauce to taste (a previous project), 6 San Marzano tomatoes halved, roasted ( a previous canning project), and pulse until well blended. Add the cheese and pulse a few more times, then spoon  into a canning jar pour a bit of olive oil on top to prevent oxidation, and store in the refrigerator until use. I would imagine this should last about a week. 

You can use this pesto in many ways. I even ate it off the spoon and it was delicious. The best part, is this is very healthy and every spoonful is like eating a big collard leaf!