Pasta with kale, lentils & caramelized onions

My CSA box comes with kale every week. I've always liked kale, when other people cook it. But I never buy it. Do you have those foods? I just have a kale blind spot.

Last week: the much beloved (by everyone on the internet, it seems) kale chips. Cut out center ribs, toss with a teeny bit of olive oil, sprinkle with a teeny bit of salt, bake in a single layer at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes. Devour. D claims they are tastier than potato chips. I can't go quite that far (I can't even buy potato chips, because I love them too much and cannot be trusted with them), but I enjoyed them a lot.

This week I tried it in a main dish. I had one cup of my beloved lentils leftover from another meal, so this came together very quickly.

Pasta with lentils, kale and caramelized onions (adapted from Epicurious, 4 servings)

1/2 cup French green lentils (I used black)
2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I think I used less than half of this)
2 large onions, finely sliced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound kale
3/4 pound dried short pasta (I only used 6 oz, which is half of what they recommend and it made 4 normal person sized servings with a better ratio of stuff to pasta, in my opinion)

Simmer lentils in water (2 cups) with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart saucepan, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep lentils barely covered, until tender but not falling apart, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt. (I used some leftover cooked black lentils and it was perfect)

While lentils simmer, heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cook until soft and golden.

While onion cooks, cut out and discard stems and center ribs from kale. Cook kale in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer kale with tongs to a colander to drain, pressing lightly. Keep pot of water at a boil, covered.

Coarsely chop kale and add to onion along with lentils, then simmer, stirring, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to kale-cooking liquid and boil, uncovered, until al dente. Drain pasta. Toss everything together. Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Voila.

The kale is a beautiful bright green and all the textures go together perfectly. The original recipe tells you to save some of the cooking liquid and add it back in, but unless you like soupy pasta, I don't recommend it. It certainly isn't dry, so I'm not sure why they think you need the extra water.