Kale Pesto Pasta

Do you remember those Popeye the Sailor cartoons?  Some damsel would be in distress and Popeye would need to somehow summon some superhuman strength to save his sweetheart.  He turned to none other than spinach, a cousin of our mighty green.  While we won't be focusing on spinach during this post we were searching the grocery store for some type of winter veggie to give us some nutritional fortitude and happened upon our hero: kale.

While kale might seem intimidating and dare I say bland, we would encourage you to try it anyway. We found it to be utterly scrumptious (not to mention it imbued us with freakish strength for about four hours after consumption).



Kale Pesto Pasta
Hardly adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Serves 2

2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 small shallots, peeled
1 small bunch of kale (4 ounces), stalks removed
1/6 cup olive oil
1/4 cup feta cheese, plus more for topping
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6-8 oz. uncooked penne pasta
Salt and pepper to taste



Boil a large pot of water (you will use this later to boil your pasta) and add whole garlic and shallots. Stir around in the water for 2-3 minutes, then add kale. The kale should only be in the water long enough to turn a bright green color--10 seconds! Be careful not to overcook.

Quickly remove kale, garlic and shallots from the water and transfer to a food processor.* Add olive oil, lemon juice, and feta. Puree the mixture until smooth, and add salt and pepper to taste. You may need more lemon juice too, depending on how acidic you like it. If you want it to be a bit thinner, just grab a tablespoon of the pasta water out of the pot and mix in. This mixture is all about how you like it, so make sure to taste it a lot!



*If you have an extra set of hands, have your souschef put the pasta into the boiling water here. If not, do it as soon as the pesto is finished. Either way, your dinner will be tasty...you'll just be eating it faster.

Combine pesto and pasta in a bowl. Sprinkle with feta and enjoy!