Creamy Green Kale, Broccoli and Pea Pasta
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Most often, we think of pasta as something carb-y and rich, reserved for a special occasion or comfort food night. But David Frankiel and Luise Vindahl’s recipe for creamy green kale, broccoli and pea pasta—from their new cookbook, Green Kitchen: Quick & Slow—is fresh and light.
“Here is a super-quick, vegetable-packed pasta recipe for stressful weekdays,” they write. “The vegetables get blanched along with the pasta—inspired by a Jamie Oliver method—and we then blitz some of them into a sauce that becomes a creamy base for the pasta.”
Excerpted with permission from Green Kitchen: Quick & Slow by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl, published by Hardie Grant Books, August 2022
Ingredients
9 ounces (250g) bucatini, or pasta of your choice
4 large leaves (about 2 ounces/50g) curly or Lacinato kale, stalks discarded
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ cup (2½ ounces/75g) frozen peas, thawed
Handful of basil or parsley leaves
Handful of mint leaves, plus more to serve
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of ½ lemon, plus more as needed
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast or Parmesan
7 ounces (200g) broccoli florets
Handful of hazelnuts or pine nuts, toasted and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
2. Add the kale to the pasta pot, along with the garlic. After about a minute, use a pair of tongs to remove the kale and garlic. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
3. While the pasta continues to cook, add the kale and garlic to a blender, along with half the peas. Add the basil, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast (or Parmesan) and 4 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth, then taste and adjust the flavor and texture as needed. You want the sauce to be entirely smooth, but not too runny. If it’s too runny, you can add more peas, herbs or cheese to thicken.
4. When there are just a few minutes left of the pasta cooking time, add the broccoli and remaining peas to the pan to cook. Drain the pasta and veggies in a colander, then return them to the saucepan. Pour half of the green sauce over the top and stir.
5. Divide the remaining sauce between 4 plates and spread out into round puddles. Top with the pasta, then sprinkle with the toasted nuts, fresh mint leaves and a grating of Parmesan or some nutritional yeast. Finish with lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper.
410 calories
12g fat
60g carbs
20g protein
4g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.