Pasta & Kale

A long time ago in a kingdom far away -- my old apartment -- I was planning to go to the Troy Farmers Market. I invited the, then, "boy I was dating" (now "domestic partner") to come with me and he scoffed. I said "Oh, then I'll just bring you something back.. how about some KALE do you want some KALE??" "What the hell is Kale?" was he response. Foolish mortal. Kale is DELICIOUS and this is probably my favorite way of preparing it. The boy has learned to love Kale and good thing! This stuff is packed with as many vitamins and minerals as it is deliciousness. If you haven't tried it, you really should. Just a warning though -- if it's bitter, you got bad Kale -- don't blame all Kale for the shortcomings of that one bunch.

I serve the Kale over Pasta here, but it goes just as well over brown rice or barley or on baked pizza dough or crusty bread...


Pasta & Kale
1 Bunch Kale
2 cups diced or crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 can white kidney beans (or whatever else you like in a canned bean)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Handful fresh basil, torn
1/2 lbs pasta (here we've got whole wheat)

1. Put on a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Continue to prepare the pasta according to package directions, then drain it. Meanwhile...

2. Rinse off the Kale and cut or tear the leaf off of the tough stem as seen in the picture...

See the light green "backbone"? That's tough and needs to go!

3. Chop or tear the leaves into smallish pieces, as you would lettuce for a salad.

4. Heat oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and cook over medium-low until the garlic is fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Add all your Kale and the vegetable broth. It will look like a crazy mountain of Kale, but it will cook down quite a bit. Put the lid on the pan, turn the heat up to medium-high and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until it shrinks down.

Kale Mountain!

5 Minutes Later -- Kale plains

5. Add the tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes. Then add the beans and toss to heat through. Remove from the heat and fold in the basil.

I used frozen garden tomatoes that I cooked down this fall so it's a little bit wetter than the canned kind.

6. Toss the Kale and Tomato and Bean mixture with your pasta. Enjoy!