Kale… is something I always seem to plant and not eat. I grew it for the chickens at the previous place; they loved it. But this year, I told myself I would find reasons to consume it. I saw a recipe Bob Morona posted on his Facebook page and decided to make it. It was so good, I needed to share it.
Now then, unlike him, I really finely chopped the kale and cooked it well. I also used the kale growing fastest in our garden, which is the curly variety. He called for Lacinato, or Tuscan, as it can be milder. I used what was growing fastest. Snap or cut your kale branches off; the plant continues to grow.
It’s a great dinner for when you are working in the garden all day and need a quick meal for the family.
So…how much kale is actually a “bunch”? Yeah, that is all over the map. When you buy at a store, it can be half a pound or a whole pound. If harvesting at home, cut to what makes you happy. I harvested enough that I had to run 2 batches through my salad spinner. It cooks down – my 10″ skillet was full, once cooked, it dropped by 80% at least.
As for the sausage, I bought it in casing and removed that. You can buy it packaged like ground meat, but I didn’t like the type the store had on hand. It only takes a minute to get it in the pan.
Kale and Sausage Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- Olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage (in casing)
- 1 bulb of garlic, peeled and chopped
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Ground black pepper
- 1 large bunch of kale
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Strip the kale off the stems and finely chop. Add the kale to a salad spinner, wash in cold water, and spin dry.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta as directed on the package, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, take the casing off the sausage and add it to a large skillet with a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook over medium-high, breaking up the sausage into small bites. Once cooked, transfer to a bowl.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until just turning golden.
Add the kale, reduce the heat to medium, and stir until it turns bright green and softens to your liking.
Add the lemon juice, the cooked pasta, and half the cheese. Toss the pasta in, with about half the reserved pasta water. Add the remaining cheese and as much of the water as needed to coat the pasta into a sauce.
Season with ground black pepper and serve.
Serves 4 to 5.
~Sarah