It’s kale time…but sometimes we don’t know how to use it. A dear friend of mine, has a beautiful organic farm near Reggio Emilia: she grows a nice garden with a lot of this seasonal vegetable (if you are near Reggio Emilia, I suggest to visit this farm https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007388536011 …they also produce a special Parmigiano Reggiano); she tells me that a lot of her clients don’t know how to cook kale and ask always for new recipes. You can consider it like chards or turnip tops: just boil them in water and then sauté with extra virgin olive oil and garlic to obtain a simply side dish. But you can also use it to make a salted quiche, a pesto, to enrich a vegetable soup…In this case we cook it to season a short kind of pasta, Malloreddus, (a traditional pasta from Sardegna)…you can also use short penne or orecchiette…

Tell me if you like them 😉

Ingredients (for 4 people):

  1. Malloreddus (typical pasta from Sardegna) 320 gr
  2. Kale 600 gr
  3. Precooked chickpeas 250 gr
  4. 1 leek
  5. a clove of garlic
  6. red chili pepper
  7. extra virgin olive oil q.s.

salt q.s.

Steps:

  1. Wash the leaves of kale and cook them in boiling water for about ten minutes; drain and cool, squeeze well and cut into small pieces. Keep them aside.
  2. Cut the leek into fine slices and brown it in a saucepan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Add chickpeas (washed and drained).
  4. Cover with water and cook for about 15 minutes; room to taste and blend to obtain a smoothe cream.
  5. Bring the water to a boil and cook the pasta; it will takes about 10/12 minutes (check for the cooking time on the package).
  6. Meanwhile, put a clove of garlic in a large pan with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
  7. Add the kale and a teaspoon of chili powder; cook for a few minutes; add salt to taste; remove the garlic.
  8. Drain the pasta and sauté with the black cabbage.
  9. Pour a ladle of chickpea cream in the centre of a plate; place the pasta on top and serve with another pinch of red chili pepper.