 and add it to soups, I sauté it with shallots or onions and make a frittata and am fond of thin slivers of kale added to my Italian-style green beans which I slow simmer in tomato sauce. I eat my kale cooked.
A couple of weeks ago, I started coming across multiple recipes for Kale Sauce Pasta and was curious. The recipes called for removing the kale from the stem and cooking it in in boiling salted water until tender. It was then drained and pureed with delicious ingredients, like parmigiana cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Most of the recipes were attributed to Josh McFadden, an Oregon Farm-to Table Chef and author Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. In turn, he attributes his Kale Sauce Pasta recipe to the very famous River Café in London. And someday I will dig through my piled boxes of stored cookbooks and find the original inspiration (recipe), but until then….. data-pin-do=)
Warm Kale Pesto Pasta by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
February 21, 2025
There’s a big, wide world of uncooked kale recipes out there. And I readily admit to not liking raw kale, it’s way too chewy for me. I do however, both cook with and eat kale: I chiffonade it (thin slivers) and add it to soups, I sauté it with shallots or onions and make a frittata and am fond of thin slivers of kale added to my Italian-style green beans which I slow simmer in tomato sauce. I eat my kale cooked.
A couple of weeks ago, I started coming across multiple recipes for Kale Sauce Pasta and was curious. The recipes called for removing the kale from the stem and cooking it in in boiling salted water until tender. It was then drained and pureed with delicious ingredients, like parmigiana cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Most of the recipes were attributed to Josh McFadden, an Oregon Farm-to Table Chef and author Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. In turn, he attributes his Kale Sauce Pasta recipe to the very famous River Café in London. And someday I will dig through my piled boxes of stored cookbooks and find the original inspiration (recipe), but until then…..
Ingredients
¾ pound green kale, on-the-stem ((approximately 12-16 ounces))
½ cup onion and/or shallot, finely chopped
2 medium cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
¼ level teaspoon of fennel seeds, coarsely chopped
½ cup (8 tablespoons) toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped and divided
½ cup (8 tablespoons) grated parmigiana cheese, divided
4-5 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided
Fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces dried rigatoni pasta or other shape
Optional: a pinch of hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
Directions
Strip the kale leaves from the big stems and add to a colander. Tear the kale into smaller pieces. Rinse the kale under cold running water and shake to remove excess water.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2-3 teaspoons of kosher salt to the pot. Cook the kale for about 4-5 minutes or until it is very tender. Using a strainer or slotted spoon, remove the kale from the water into a colander with a bowl underneath it. (The bowl will collect some of the cooking water which you might later use to puree the kale.) Set aside.
Sauté the chopped onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add more olive oil if necessary, during cooking to prevent sticking. Add the sliced garlic and fennel seeds and cook until garlic has softened. Add a pinch of kosher salt and a few twists of the pepper mill.
Combine the cooked onion and garlic with the cooked kale and add to the bowl of a food processor. Add 3-4 tablespoons of grated parmigiana and 3-4 tablespoons of chopped toasted walnuts. Process until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of the reserved kale-cooking water if necessary. You are aiming for a thick pesto-like texture, Taste and adjust seasonings. Set aside while you cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta in the same pot that you cooked the kale in. Add more water to the pot, if necessary, Add more salt to the pot if necessary. Bring pot to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to a warm serving bowl. Generously coat the cooked pasta with the kale pesto sauce. Mix in a bit of hot red pepper flakes, if using. Toss with the remaining grated cheese and toasted walnuts.
Serve immediately.
Note: You will have extra kale pesto sauce. Refrigerate to use another time.
Serves: 3-4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 to 30 minutes
