Kale and pasta

Hello all! This week’s recipe was inspired by three things: One, a big bunch of kale in my refrigerator. Two,a recipe I found in Bon Appetit magazine. Three, an episode of Portlandia where a man gives up pasta to lose weight and then becomes a shameful, slobbering, cracked out mess.

Now, I am not one to post video to my blog…actually I have never done it before, but this warrants it. I present what would happen to me if anyone ever took my pasta away:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9sdQS7wzxU?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360]

**UPDATE: this happened folks, they took my pasta away. Since going Gluten-free I have been on a mission to find a suitable pasta replacement. Now, I am trying to perfect my own because the store bought (good) GF pasta is mad expensive, but in the meantime, I have found Jovial brand pastas to be very close to the real deal. I use their fettuccine style egg noodles in this recipe and its wonderful.

Yeah. Anywhooo, I found this recipe the other night when I was digging around on the internet for something interesting to do with kale because I had a few big bunches of it in my refrigerator. In the meantime, I happened to watch the above episode titled, “Pasta Addict”. Needless to say, these two events combined to make me absolutely have to have a pasta dish that incorporated kale.

Fettuccine with Braised kale

Inspired by Bon Appetit Magazine

Ingredients

1 pound l kale (about 2 bunches), large center ribs and stems removed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (or the equivalent in minced garlic)
**1/2 pound GF fettuccine (Gluten-free Jovial is what I use)
Zest & Juice of a whole lemon
1/4C white wine (optional)
Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Rinse kale. Drain; transfer to bowl with some water still clinging.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Add sliced garlic and sprinkle with salt; cook until onion is golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add kale and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss until wilted, about 3 minutes. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until kale is very tender, stirring occasionally and adding water by teaspoonfuls if dry, about 20 minutes. (I added wine here instead of water for a bit more flavor)
Meanwhile, cook fettuccine in medium pot of boiling salted water until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add cooked pasta to kale mixture in pot. Add lemon juice and zest along with 2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid; toss to combine, adding more liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Sprinkle fettuccine with grated Parmesan cheese, toss and serve.

This pasta dish was really delish, and it goes along with my New Year efforts to lighten things up around here. It really satisfied my addictive need for pasta, but I didn’t feel all weighed down after I ate it. So the next time you have some kale, and want some pasta, give this a shot, you won’t be sorry.