Black Kale Pesto Pasta

This creamy pesto recipe was taught to me by a dear friend who is a great young cook as well as an astro-physicist…yup, an actual rocket scientist. This nutrient-dense recipe fits his busy lifestyle and honestly is out of this world delicious.

Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredient List:

• 8 ounces farfalle (bowties)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, left whole
• ½ bunch black kale (cavolo nero), left whole
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 teaspoons white miso
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 zucchini, fine matchstick pieces
• Red chili flakes
• Juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon

Step By Step Instructions:

Bring a pan of water to the boil, salted. Drop in farfalle and let it slide into the pan. Add garlic cloves too cook in the pasta water. Add kale leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Transfer the kale leaves and garlic cloves to a food processer or onto the cutting board. Puree or finely chop to form a coarse paste. Mix in miso and enough olive oil to make a paste.

Place a small amount of olive oil in a deep skillet and sauté zucchini with chili flakes to taste, until the zucchini bend, about 2 minutes. Mix in kale pesto and lemon zest and juice. Using tongs or a pasta fork, lift the spaghetti from the cooking water to the skillet, dragging some of the cooking water with you. Mix well and serve hot.