Thursday, October 20, 2011

DAY 20: Kale-Walnut Pesto Pasta



I am becomming obsessed with this veggie. KALE looks kind of like lettuce, but has the health benefits of broccoli or cabbage. It's got tons of antioxidants and has been known to be a natural anti-inflamatory food.

I've been learning a few really cool things to do with KALE.
Picture of Crispy Kale "Chips" Recipe

Crisp Kale Salad
Kale-Walnut Pesto Pasta
This takes just about 15minutes to make but is paked with flavor!

GROCERY LIST
1/2 bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1 pound gemelli pasta
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

EASY PREPARATION
  1.  In a large pot of salted water, cook the kale until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the kale to a colander and rinse with cold water. Add the pasta to the pot and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot.
  2. Meanwhile, squeeze the kale to remove the excess water. In a food processor, combine the kale, walnuts, garlic and parmesan until almost smooth; season with salt and pepper. With the machine running, add the olive oil.
  3. Add the pesto to the pasta, along with enough pasta cooking water to loosen the pesto as necessary. Serve sprinkled with more parmesan.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious, and so easy! I'll have to give it a try next week :)

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  2. How I wish I had my own kitchen to just stay up there for HOURS trying all of these awesome looking recipes! :) Looks great!

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  3. UM, ALL of those options look delicious!! I was telling Steph the other day that I need to come over to her house so that I have people to cook for. So, there you go, your 31 days series is inspiring family get-togethers. and I'm dead serious.

    :D

    LOVE you!

    ReplyDelete