Garlic Kale Pasta
Absolutely love this quick pasta, it's so vibrant and beautiful and I never feel too heavy or full after eating it. A guilt-free weeknight staple.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 300g torn kale leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 lemon, juice
- 300g pasta
- 70g Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated (plus more, to serve)
Equipment:
- Blender or Nutribullet
Serves 2-3
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
- Add kale to boiling water, stir to submerge and cover with a lid.
- Simmer for 3 minutes, then use tongs or a spider strainer to remove to ice water to cool, while keeping the boiling water there for the pasta step (this will help it retain colour and flavour).
- In a large pan, heat olive oil then sauté garlic and chilli flakes over low heat until garlic turns deeply golden.
- Strain kale and add to a blender with garlic/chilli oil, a good pinch of salt and juice of half a lemon.
- Blend until very smooth (you may need to add some kale/pasta water to loosen it up enough to blend).
- Meanwhile, boil pasta in the salty kale water.
- When pasta is cooked, strain it directly into the large pan you used for the garlic and chilli, pour over sauce and stir to combine.
- Bit by bit, add Parmesan, tossing until incorporated.
- Taste and season, then serve with more Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.