Pasta With Lentils And Kale Recipes

VEGAN LENTIL, KALE, AND RED ONION PASTA

Steps:

• Bring the vegetable broth, lentils, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and bay leaf to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Add additional broth if needed to keep the lentils moist. Discard the bay leaf once done.
• As the lentils simmer, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, thyme, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute, then add the sausage. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale and rotini pasta. Cook until the rotini is al dente, about 8 minutes. Remove some of the cooking water, and set aside. Drain the pasta, then return to the pot, and stir in the lentils, and onion mixture. Use the reserved cooking liquid to adjust the moistness of the dish to your liking. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast to serve.

KALE-SAUCE PASTA

Steps:

• Put a large pot of generously salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil. In a small skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Reduce heat to low, and cook very gently until garlic is soft and begins to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• When water is boiling, add kale leaves, and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Pull out the hot, dripping kale leaves with tongs, and put directly into a blender. (Don't drain the pot; you'll use that same boiling water to cook the pasta.) Add garlic and its oil to the blender, along with a splash of hot water from the pot if you need some more liquid to get the blender going. Blend into a fine, thick green purée. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, then blend again.
• Add the pasta to the still-boiling water, and cook according to directions on the package. Ladle out about a cup of the water to save for finishing the dish, then drain the pasta and return it to the dry pot. Add the kale purée, about 3/4 of the grated cheese and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss until all the pasta is well coated and bright green, adding another splash of pasta water if needed so that the sauce is loose and almost creamy in texture. Serve in bowls right away, and top with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the grated cheese.

HEALTHY BRAISED LENTILS WITH KALE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 6-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, fennel and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, broth, lentils and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring just to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. There will be a good amount of broth left in the pot, which is fine. Turn off heat and stir in the kale and 3 tablespoons of the parsley until the kale is just wilted. Divide the lentil mixture among 4 large bowls and set aside while frying the eggs.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet. Crack the eggs into the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper; fry 2 minutes for sunny-side up, or longer if firmer yolks are desired. Top each serving of lentils with a fried egg and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

GARLIC LENTILS WITH KALE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook red onion in hot oil until browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Pour lentils into the pot with onion; add enough water to cover the lentils by 2 to 3 inches. Bring the water to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low.
• Stir tomato paste, garlic, brown sugar, and paprika into the lentil mixture to integrate the paste smoothly into the liquid; bring to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender, about 1 hour.
• Stir kale into the lentils, reduce heat to low, and cook until the kale is tender, 10 to 15 minutes; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

PASTA AND LENTILS (PASTA E LENTICCHIE)

Steps:

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 5 cups of water, the lentils, the thyme and bay leaves (if using). Partially cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are al dente, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil over high. Add the pasta and cook, stirring often to keep the pasta from sticking to the pot, until the pasta is al dente, 10 to 20 minutes. (It may take longer than the cook time on the package.) If the pot starts to look dry at any point, add more water, 1/4 cup at a time.
• Turn off the heat, discard the thyme and bay leaves, then stir in the Parmesan. Cover and let sit for 3 minutes so the flavors meld and the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Eat with more Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

AMAZING LENTILS AND KALE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir shredded carrot, chopped onion, and minced garlic in the hot oil until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pour vegetable broth into the pot. Stir lentils and salsa into the broth mixture. Bring to a boil, place a cover on the pot, and cook at a simmer until the lentils are softened, about 45 minutes.
• Season the lentil mixture with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
• Stir kale into the lentil mixture. Replace the cover onto the pot and cook just until the kale is wilted, 3 to 5 minutes.

LEMONY LENTILS WITH KALE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and carrot in the hot oil until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme sprigs, kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes; cook and stir to coat, 1 minute.
• Stir lentils, tomatoes and their juice, and chicken stock into onion mixture. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Add kale, lemon zest, and lemon juice; cook until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES, GARLIC, CHILES AND KALE

Steps:

• Bring a heavily salted pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in the largest skillet you have. Add chiles and a pinch of salt and toast until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add smashed garlic, capers and anchovies. Let cook until everything is golden, the capers look crisp around the edges and the anchovies have dissolved into the oil, about 3 to 4 minutes. (You can help anchovies dissolve by mashing them with a wooden spoon as they cook.) Add kale and 2 tablespoons water and sauté until kale wilts and cooks in the pan and is well coated with oil, about 5 minutes. You might have to add more water if the water evaporates before the kale finishes cooking.
• Add drained pasta and toss well. Add more salt if necessary and plenty of black pepper, and serve drizzled with more oil and a squeeze of lemon if the dish needs a lift. Cheese isn't necessary but if you like pecorino and have some on hand, feel free to shower it on top.

PASTA WITH LENTILS AND KALE

Steps:

• Simmer lentils in water (2 cups) with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 1- to 1-1 1/2 quart saucepan, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep lentils barely covered, until tender but not falling apart, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt.
• While lentils simmer, heat 1/4 oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute onion with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), about 20 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring frequently, until onion is golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more.
• While onion cooks, cut out and discard stems and center ribs from kale. Cook kale in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer kale with tongs to a colander to drain, pressing lightly. Keep pot of water at a boil, covered.
• Coarsely cho kale and add to onion along with lentils (including lentil-cooking liquid), then simmer, stirring, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add pasta to kale-cooking liquid and boil, uncovered, until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup pasta-cooking liquid, then drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta to lentil mixture along with about 1/3 cup of pasta-cooking liquid (or enough to keep pasta moist) and cook over high heat, tossing, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
• Lentils and onions can be cooked up to 5 days ahead and chilled, uncovered, until completely cooled, then covered. Reheat over low heat, thinning with water as necessary.
• Kale can be washed and trimmed 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealed plastic bag lined with dampened paper towels.