Cooking On The Couch: Sunny Anderson's Collard and Olive Pesto

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- We served up some sunshine Thursday on The Couch. One of the Food Network's most popular hosts, Sunny Anderson, joined us. She is taking part in the Fifth Annual Food & Wine Festival this weekend.

Sunnys Collard and Olive Pesto on Wheat Pasta:

1 bunch collards, roughly chopped
8 ounces whole wheat linguine
1/4 cup pecans
3 cloves garlic
6 ounces Parmesan cheese, rough chunks
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Blanch the collards. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch collards, 1 minute until bright, shake off excess water and transfer to food processor.

2. Boil the pasta. Add linguine to boiling water, cook according to package instructions.

3. Make the pesto. In a dry skillet, toast pecans until fragrant. Transfer to the food processor with 1-1/4 cups Parmesan cheese and olives. With food processor on, drizzle olive oil in a slow stream until pesto comes together. Taste for seasoning, add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

4. Toss pesto with pasta. Remove pasta from heat and drain. Return to the warm pot, add pesto and toss to incorporate. Serve with remaining Parmesan sprinkled over top.

Yield: 4 servings
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes