Ingredients
1 bunch (about 500g) black kale (cavelo nero), stalks removed
4 cloves garlic, peeled but kept whole
120g fresh full fat ricotta
1/3 cup hard sharp cheese such as parmesan or pecorino
150ml extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
400g pasta of your choice
Summary
Want a way of using a whole bunch of kale in one meal? Want it to be creamy, delicious and a little bit Shrek..? This is your answer! Making this sauce in a blender gives it that uniform, super green, luscious consistency we love (although the texture may not be for everyone). A food processor works too but creates more of a bitty texture, still yum but not quite as vibrant.
Kale and Ricotta Pasta
Serves 4
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the garlic and kale leaves and blanch for 4 mins. Using tongs, remove the leaves and garlic reserving the water for later.
Put kale and garlic in a blender and add the ricotta (reserving a few tbsp for garnish), parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whizz up on high until you reach the desired consistency – we like ours loose but still creamy and able to hold its shape on a spoon. If it feels a bit thick, add in some of the water you used to blanch the kale, just a splash at a time.
Bring the reserved cooking water to a boil and cook your pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy water before draining the pasta and returning it to the pan. Add in the kale and ricotta sauce, a bit at a time, stirring until it looks well coated and super green. If the pasta is feeling a bit gluggy, add in a splash of pasta water, stirring to loosen.
Serve piled high in bowls with fresh ricotta on top and a drizzle of olive oil.
Hints and Tips
This recipe was adapted from one by our local pasta queen Julia Busuttil Nishimura
