Food + Drink

Kale Pasta

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Personally, I am not a veggie person. Are you? Full disclosure, if you are, this might not be the space for you.

Kidding!

Sort of.

I always find ways to incorporate veggies where I can.

While I’m not a veggie person, I am a pasta person. Enter this kale pasta. It forces me to get my veggies, but I’m in my happy place, eating pasta.

This recipe all started from my husband making dinner a few times a week. His favorite cookbook is Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients.

He’s actually an excellent cook (my husband, not Jamie Oliver – I  anticipate Jamie Oliver is an exceptional cook). There was a while there where he was craving simplicity, which I appreciate because one of the simple dishes he tested out was a kale pasta.

Now I took Jamie’s lovely 5-ingredient kale pasta and ramped it up to 9-ingredients. Why do you ask? More veggies to hide in my meal. So I made:

Signed Samantha kale pasta recipe plated and ready to serve. In the image there is a bowl full of parmesan, broccoli, and a low bowl full of green pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles.

Kale Broccoli Pasta

A huge transition… LOL.

Okay, I know it’s not a ton, but honestly, the entire basis of this sauce is kale and broccoli. So everyone is getting a full serving, plus some, of their vegetables, obviously along with garlic, olive oil, and parmesan to mask the vegetable flavor.

Again, I’m mostly kidding. The additional ingredients adds to and enhances the flavor of the kale. Plus, the sauce is a beautifully creamy and velvety texture.  

The texture is similar to the healthy cauliflower alfredo recipe I shared about a month ago. Can you believe I waited a full month to post a pasta recipe?! That’s bananas.

I won’t let the pasta situation go past a month again. This one, I promise, is delicious and nutritious for the whole family – including your kids who are like me and need their veggies hidden.

Kale pasta recipe from Signed Samantha that's all ready to serve. The green spaghetti noodles are in a round serving bowl with two serving utensils off to the side

Kale Pasta

*Adapted from Jamie Oliver 5 Ingredients

Serves 4

Ingredients

+ 2 Tbsp olive oil

+ 1 bunch kale

+ 4 cloves garlic

+ 1 cup broccoli

+ 2 tsp chili flakes (optional + option for more or less as well)

+ 1 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

+ 4 Tbsp ricotta

+ 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp pepper (plus more to taste)

+ 1 package dried spaghetti

+ 1/2 cup pasta water (reserve from your cooked pasta)

Instructions

1.  In a large pot, boil salted water for your pasta noodles.

2. Add in your spaghetti noodles into the pot.

3. Once your spaghetti noodles are fully immersed, and you’ve created some room, add in your kale, garlic, and broccoli. Cook the veggies for 5 minutes.

4. Remove your veggies from the water, and add to your blender. Let them cool slightly.

5. Continue cooking pasta per package instructions. *Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining your noodles.

6. Add olive oil, chili flakes, parmesan, and 1/2 cup pasta water to the blender and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Once your pasta is cooked and drained, add most of the sauce to coat (I usually have about 1/4-1/2 cup leftover).

8. Plate and serve topped with parmesan and a tablespoon of ricotta on each dish.

 

 

A finished look at the kale pasta recipe from Signed Samantha. In a low pasta bowl is green sauce on top of spaghetti. It is topped with parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese along with salt and pepper. There is a napkin under the bowl and a fork and spoon in the bowl.

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