Thursday, July 23, 2009

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.

kale and lentil pasta
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.

22 comments:

  1. Mmmmm. Kale kale kale. It's so delicious in frittatas, too.

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  2. This looks like a highly delicious, texturized experience :) YUM!

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  3. this looks great and i can't help but wonder if i'd actually like kale chips.

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  4. this looks awesome!! Lentils and Kale are two of my favorite foods but I've never put them together. can't wait to try this!

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  5. Yum. I feel the same way about kale. But one when I was on a health kick I made this: a kale, white bean, sundried tomato and turkey sausage saute. It was pretty tasty. Just sayin'

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  6. i eat a lot of kale in the winter and my favorite is to sautee it with a balsamic vinegar and mustard sauce, which rounds out the bitterness http://woundedchef.blogspot.com/2008/01/dark-days-challenge-week-2-steak.html

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  7. I make a similar kale/pasta recipe...I add ground beef or turkey, feta and toasted pine nuts. Even my kids will eat it up.

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  8. Love everything about this delicious meal. It's on my list to try. Yummmy KALE! And lentils.

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  9. a vegetarian recipe, no less! this looks great - thanks for the inspiration.

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  10. I would love to be your neighbor and share kale!

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  11. Looks delicious! I tried the kale chips too and loved them, even though my roommates laughed at me. I can't wait to try this recipe!

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  12. i feel kind of pathetic admitting this, but i dont know if i've ever had kale before.

    *hangs head*

    definitely interested in trying it out though!

    (see, THIS is one of the many reasons i need to get a CSA box.)

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  13. the kale chips are so good, aren't they! I make those a lot with our CSA kale. Yesterday I just made a coleslaw with kale, red cabbage and radishes... I mixed equal parts (a tablespoon or so) soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, a spoonful of pb (or more!), a tablespoon of each chopped garlic and ginger and then a touch of sugar. It was SO good!

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  14. Oh my gosh! This looks so delicious!

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  15. Looks fantastic! I love summer pastas, the incite so much creativity.

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  16. Yum, kale! I love kale, and it's all because of this one salad I tried at a picnic. It is so so delicious. I have the recipe in PDF, I'll email it to you.

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  17. Another great recipe to make! A perfect dish for this time of year. Thanks Rachel! xoxo

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  18. mmmm! my kale penne has loads of goat cheese, curry, toasted pine nuts and bell peppers. super yum, but I will have to try this next!

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  19. I've recently been introduced to kale in the kitchen and have found that it's really quite tasty and not terribly difficult to make. I think I'll have to try these kale chips...

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  20. Ooh, this is a good one. We've been getting a TON of kale in our box, and I can never figure out quite what to do with it. It's good in potato-leek soup, too--which is sadly perfect food for the cruddy weather we've been having in the Northeast.

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  21. This sounds so yummy, as do kale chips! I've never heard of doing that, but it sounds like a great way to use kale... My husband and I also receive it with our CSA and it's always a challenge to use!

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  22. I've made this twice now, once with black lentils and once with french green. I prefer the latter. Regarless, the dish goes for good to sublime with a small sprinkle of parm cheese and a glug of balsamic vinegar on top.

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