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What do you do when your picky eater doesn’t come home for dinner…. make Kale and White Bean Pasta of course!
The real reasons we should eat kale are it contains vitamins A,K,C and Iron. It is also fat free, low in calories (which is also good for your waistline) and high in fiber. Kale is also a heart healthy food, it has antioxidants that fight disease and is an anti-inflammatory (**see below). I don’t always by kale because it can be a little work cleaning, stemming and chopping, but just the other day I found a huge bag (18 oz) of chopped kale in my local market. Since all I had to do was wash the greens and prepare, I bought it.
Knowing we would be down one non vegetable eater I decided to make this pasta dish tonight. And If your not a big fan of greens try making them with a little olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese.
Here’s the play by play – I’ll skip the boring photo gallery of the boiling water,etc…
I will show you a few helpful photos….See the recipe card below for the full instructions
There is a slight kick from the pepper flakes but very mild. All the flavors come together nicely. I would use this method to prepare other bitter greens in pasta. I used less pasta to make it less carb friendly!
Thanks for visiting …please stick around and check out some of the other recipes!
** in researching the health benefits of Kale I found the above information on the Mind Body Green website**
Kale and White Bean Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 oz of pre chopped kale
- 1 15.5 oz can of Cannellini or other white small white beans
- 1/2 lb of pasta your choice
- 1/4 olive oil
- 5 smashed garlic cloves
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cups 's of vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 2of reserved kale cooking water
- Fresh Parmesan Cheese to shave over pasta or Romano
Instructions
Kale
- Wash kale and dry
- Bring 4-5 cups of water to a boil, salt the water and then add Kale
- Cook for about 7-10 mins
- Reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid with bouillon inside to dissolve and set aside
Pasta
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, salt and add 1/2 a box of Pasta (your choice)
In a heated frying pan
- Add 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 5 smashed cloves of garlic
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Carefully sauté the above ingredients in the oil on medium heat - when garlic begins to brown slightly add the cooked kale
- Continue to sauté and toss the kale in the olive oil (about 5mins)
- Add drained can of Cannellini beans and sauté another 5 mins
- Then add the reserved liquid and bring to a boil
- Cover slightly and let simmer for 15 mins
- When pasta is cooked drain and add to the pan of kale and beans
- Continue to cook and coat the pasta for about 3-4 mins and then add shaved parmesan cheese and you can option add another drizzle of extra virgin oil then toss again
- Serve and shred a little more grated cheese over the top
Notes
2) I only salted the cooking water - bouillon has sodium (otherwise it will be too salty)
3) I use Knorr bouillon cubes which are more rectangular than square so if using the small square bouillon adjust the quantity