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Green Sauce for Pasta

Green sauce for pastaKale, Chard, greens that keep coming in your CSA Share. What do you do with them every single week? I have a wonderful recipe that offers you a dinner that will be eaten and LOVED by the whole family, has the family eating greens, and helps you use your greens in the fridge before they turn gross. I make this once a week for my family all year round. It’s a recipe I picked up from the 6 Seasons Cookbook and have made it so many times, that now it’s my own. Once you make this recipe your own, you can make dinner in about 15 minutes. (Seriously, you will go to the store in the dead of winter to buy Kale, to make this recipe.)

Ingredients

  1. 9 cups of Kale (or Chard, Collard Greens, Spinach), washed and remove stem from Kale unless it is baby Kale
  2. ¼ cup of Olive Oil
  3. 3 Garlic Cloves, smashed
  4. Salt – to taste
  5. ¾ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated (this sauce stands on it’s own without cheese or you can substitute nutrition yeast for its nutty flavor)
  6. Pasta of your choice (Use Chickpea pasta if you want to add some protein and is gluten free. It is high in protein content, which will fill you up.

The Process of Making Green Sauce

  • Bring a pot of water to boil, adding salt so it tastes like the sea.
  • Place the kale or other greens in the boiling water, you don’t want your greens mushy just tender. If you are working with baby Kale or tender spinach, boil for 2 minutes. If you are working with a regular Kale, boil for 5 minutes. When you cook greens, they will wilt significantly. Meaning 9 cups of greens easily fits into my medium size pasta pot.
  • Remove the Kale from the boiling water with tongs or a slotted spoon. Place in a bowl.

Reuse your water for the pasta.

  • In a saucepan, place Olive Oil and garlic. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
  • Blend the Parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor. Take out ½ and set aside.
  • Add into the Blender with the remaining cheese the Kale, Olive oil and garlic.

I like my sauce a bit thicker. If desiring a thinner sauce, add a bit of the kale water to the blender. Mix the green sauce with the pasta, sprinkle with the parmesan set aside….and Enjoy!