Kale Pasta Recipes

PENNE WITH KALE AND ONION

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook onion in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until onion is golden brown, stirring frequently and adding the garlic during the last 2 minutes of cooking time. , Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook penne according to package directions. In a Dutch oven, bring 1 in. of water to a boil. Add kale; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender; drain., Drain penne; drizzle with remaining oil. Stir the salt, penne and kale into the onion mixture; heat through.

KALE-SAUCE PASTA

Steps:

• Put a large pot of generously salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil. In a small skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Reduce heat to low, and cook very gently until garlic is soft and begins to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• When water is boiling, add kale leaves, and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Pull out the hot, dripping kale leaves with tongs, and put directly into a blender. (Don't drain the pot; you'll use that same boiling water to cook the pasta.) Add garlic and its oil to the blender, along with a splash of hot water from the pot if you need some more liquid to get the blender going. Blend into a fine, thick green purée. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, then blend again.
• Add the pasta to the still-boiling water, and cook according to directions on the package. Ladle out about a cup of the water to save for finishing the dish, then drain the pasta and return it to the dry pot. Add the kale purée, about 3/4 of the grated cheese and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss until all the pasta is well coated and bright green, adding another splash of pasta water if needed so that the sauce is loose and almost creamy in texture. Serve in bowls right away, and top with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the grated cheese.

PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND KALE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside, reserving the water.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then pinch off 1- to 2-inch pieces of the sausage, adding it to the pan as you go. Cook for a couple minutes, flipping and stirring the sausage to brown both sides. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened a little, a couple of minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir and cook until the sausage is cooked through, another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Use a ladle to remove 2/3 cup pasta water from the pasta pot and add it to the skillet. Add the kale and cook until it has started to wilt, about 30 seconds, then add the pesto and cherry tomatoes and cook, stirring gently, until the sauce has thickened and the kale has wilted, about 3 minutes. If the skillet starts to look too dry at any stage, add a little more pasta water.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and add the butter, lemon zest, pasta and Parmesan. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve in bowls garnished with the fresh basil.

CREAMY KALE PASTA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Pulse all sauce ingredients together until mostly smooth. (The sauce will be very salty. That's okay, it'll tone down once it mixes with everything.)
• Prep the pasta: Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Cook down the kale: While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic; sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the kale; sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine, water, or broth; let it sizzle out for a minute.
• Finish: Add drained, cooked pasta and sauce. Toss to combine. Season to taste with Parmesan, lemon, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Fast, easy, yum.

LEMON GARLIC PASTA WITH KALE

Steps:

• Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until they are golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside.
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil then cook the pasta until al dente.Drain your pasta, but let the colander sit over the pasta saucepan so you collect some of that pasta water, you just need about a tablespoon.
• Slowly heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the crushed garlic and whole peppercorns and cook gently for 5 minutes over a low to medium heat. The oil should be bubbling around the garlic. Do not let the garlic burn. Fish out the garlic after 3- 5 minutes, leave the peppercorns in the oil.
• Add the kale to the olive oil and gently saute until the kale has turned bright green and is slightly wilted. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest and salt and cook for a minute.Now add in the pine nuts, parmesan and the water from the pasta. Stir over a medium heat for about two minutes.
• Add the pasta to the kale then add the parsley and extra virgin olive oil. Toss gently then serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan, some lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice if you wish and some freshly cracked black pepper.

CREAMY PESTO & KALE PASTA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry the onions for 10 mins until softened and beginning to caramelise. Add the kale and 100ml water, then cover and cook for 5 mins more, or until the kale has wilted.
• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the onion mixture, cream cheese and pesto, adding a splash of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Season.

LEMON GARLIC KALE PASTA

Steps:

• Clean Kale under running water. Remove the stems. Chop them roughly. Sprinkle little salt. Toss well and let it rest while preparing other vegetables.
• Clean mushrooms and cut them into half.
• In a big pot bring water to a boil. Salt generously. Add the pasta and cook it al dente.
• While the pasta is getting cooked, In a pan heat butter and with little olive oil.
• When the pan is hot, add sliced mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms have softened and start browning around the edges.
• Add minced garlic. Fry for 30 seconds. Stir in peas.
• Squeeze the chopped kale well and add to the pan. Saute until kale has wilted and the colour has changed to deep green colour. About 5-6 minutes.
• Add drained pasta to the pan. Add lemon juice, Italian seasoning, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup (more if required) of reserved pasta water.
• Toss everything until the sauce coats the pasta and the veggies well.
• Take the pan off the stove. Grated parmesan cheese. Mix everything well.
• Serve with more grated parmesan cheese on top.

KALE PASTA WITH CHILLI & ANCHOVY

Steps:

• Boil the pasta. While it's cooking, heat half the oil in a saucepan, then sizzle the chilli, garlic and anchovies. Add the kale, then gently fry until tender, adding a drop of water if needed.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a few tbsp water, then toss the pasta and water through the kale, adding the rest of the olive oil, lemon juice and grated Parmesan. Serve scattered with the Parmesan shavings.

KALE PASTA SAUCE

Steps:

• For the kale sauce, slice the leaves from the stalks, reserving the stalks for later. Put a large pan of water on to boil and add plenty of salt.
• In a separate smaller pan, gently cook the garlic with the olive oil until the garlic begins to soften - but make sure it doesn't burn. Carefully remove the garlic from the oil and discard.
• Blanch the kale stalks in the pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then add the leaves and blanch for a further 1-2 minutes or until just turning soft.
• Drain the kale and leave to cool. Once cooled, blend with the garlic oil in a high-powered blender to make a smooth paste.
• Cook the pasta following pack instructions then drain, reserving 100ml of pasta water.
• In a large heatproof pan, melt the butter, stir through the kale sauce and toss in the cooked pasta. Add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary. Add a squeeze of lemon depending on how sour and citrussy you like it, and season to taste.
• Divide between plates and sprinkle with the dried chilli, some black pepper and a good grating of pecorino.

KILLER KALE PASTA

Steps:

• Place the bell peppers over the flame of a gas burner to char, turning, 3 to 4 minutes per side (or char the peppers under the broiler, turning, 5 minutes). Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow the peppers to steam about 10 minutes. Once cool to the touch, remove the peppers from the bowl and pull off the charred skin and stems and remove the seeds. Slice and set aside until ready to use.
• Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, then the shallots and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and wine and cook until most of the wine has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes and the roasted red peppers. Mix well and bring to a steady boil, then reduce the heat so the sauce simmers.
• Meanwhile, prepare the kale by removing and discarding the stems; tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Fold the kale into the tomato sauce along with the chicken and toss to combine. Cover and cook until the kale has wilted, about 5 minutes. If the sauce seems dry, add the chicken stock 1/2 cup at a time. Continue cooking, covered, until the kale is tender, all the flavors have come together and the sauce is thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, 8 to 10 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and add it directly to the Dutch oven with the finished sauce. Drizzle in some olive oil. Cook over low heat, tossing to coat everything, 2 to 3 minutes. (This allows the last cooking of the pasta to be done in the sauce.) Add a little of the reserved pasta water if needed. Serve the pasta in large bowls and top with spoonfuls of parmesan, more red pepper flakes and another drizzle of olive oil.