Pasta with Kale & Walnut Pesto

I think I found my new favorite way to use kale.

Seriously though. Ryan stated that this meal may have been the best meal I have ever made since we started living together. That’s beating a lot of meals.

I first saw this recipe on Tina’s blog awhile ago and bookmarked it for future use. She pulled the recipe from Real Simple magazine.

I have to admit…I’m sometimes scared to try out recipes in magazines. They seem somewhat intimidating, don’t they? Maybe it’s just me but at times they use ingredients that I’ve never even heard of and can’t find anywhere in the grocery store and I end up giving up on the recipe and ordering Chinese.

This recipe, however, is super simple and tastes gourmet. And the pesto…is made with kale! Did I mention that already? I think this will be my go-to recipe for pesto now!

Pasta with Kale & Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup plus two tablespoons walnuts
• 1 bunch of kale, stems discarded and leaves torn
• 1 cup grated pecorino, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 pound fusilli, penne, rotini pasta

*Note: The original recipe added salt too, but I found the cheese adds enough saltiness that I would omit the next time*

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool. Chop 2 tablespoons of the walnuts and set aside. (Do NOT skip this step…makes all the difference!)
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale and cook until bright green, 30 seconds. Transfer the kale to a colander (reserve the cooking water); squeeze dry when cool enough to handle.
3. In a food processor, combine the kale, pecorino, garlic, the remaining ⅓ cup of unchopped walnuts, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Process until finely chopped. With the machine running, add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream.
4. Bring the reserved cooking water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the pesto and ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water and toss to coat (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). Serve the pasta sprinkled with the pecorino and chopped walnuts.

Thankfully, I made enough for leftovers for lunch, but had I known how good this was going to be I would have made 3 times the amount!

Question: Have you had a life changing meal lately?

Tagged as: food, healthy pasta, kale, kale & walnut pesto, pasta dishes, pasta meals, pasta w/ kale & walnut pesto