Are you one of those people (like me) who love to toss several types of ingredients (crunchy, chewy, soft, sweet, spicy, salty, etc.) into a dish and see what happens? This recipe does just that. It’s adapted from Curtis Stone’s “Linguine with Kale, Lemon and Walnuts” in Food & Wine.
I modified the recipe by using angel hair pasta to lighten it up a bit. And I didn’t toss the basil or walnuts into the pan until just before serving, to preserve freshness and crunch, AND to avoid the not-so-pleasant shade of green/gray that the pasta had become on a prior attempt! I also added a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little kick. While I haven’t done it yet, you could replace basil with cilantro or flat leaf parsley, replace the kale with fresh spinach, add in some sautéed mushrooms, etc. It’s a good dish to experiment with 🙂
This is definitely satisfying and tasty. Hubby likes to have a little extra protein with his pasta, so I sauteed a boneless chicken breast, sliced it up and tossed it in just before serving. Really yummy. Enjoy!
- ½ c. walnuts
- 1 lb. curly kale, stems removed, thinly sliced
- 1 lb. angel hair pasta
- ½ c. olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 Tb. lemon zest
- 2 Tb. lemon juice
- ½ c. basil leaves, lightly torn
- ½ c. Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Place walnuts in a baking dish and pop in oven for about 10 mins. Allow to cool and chop coarsely.
- Fill a large saucepan with water and 1 Tb. kosher salt; bring to boil.
- Place kale pieces in boiling water for a few minutes (just until bright green color & tender). Remove kale and place in a colander to drain.
- Return the water in the saucepan to boil. Add pasta until cooked. Reserve 1 c. of water before draining the pasta.
- Dry the saucepan. Heat to medium/high and add ¼ c. of the olive oil.
- Add garlic and red pepper flakes, thenkale and lemon zest; toss until hot (about 2 mins.).
- Add angel hair, lemon juice and remaining oil.
- Add parmesan and half the reserved cooking water. Simmer over low heat until pasta is coated; add more water if it's too thick.
- Season with salt and pepper; add basil and walnuts.
- Serve with more parmesan, as desired.
