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Archive for November 3rd, 2009

Spaghetti with Braised Kale

I feel like a better person already.

So yes, we’re cleaning out the fridge to take off to Jasper for a week for Christmas in November, a week if eating, drinking and being merry like no other. I CAN’T WAIT.

One thing that had to go was a big bunch of kale. I had seen something, somewhere, made with kale that made me want to eat it. Where was that? Wading through torn-out magazine pages (which are scattered through my house like – I fear I’ll decades from now become a spinster with a house full of torn-out recipes instead of cats) I spent a couple days scrolling through my memory to try and retrieve the file. Fortunately, the world-wide inter-web makes a fine filing system, and if I can at least trigger the memory of which publication it was in (I knew it was Molly, and she has a new column in Bon Appétit – the first I flip to), I can look it up. Bingo.

Spaghetti with Braised Kale

adapted from Molly’s column in the October 2009 issue of Bon Appétit

1/2 lb. spaghetti
canola or olive oil, for cooking with
1 large onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped
1 large bunch of kale
a squeeze of lemon juice
grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Put a big pot of water on to boil, and cook the spaghetti. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy skillet and saute the onion for about 5 minutes, until golden. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

Rinse the kale, pull out the tough ribs and coarsely chop or tear apart; add another drizzle of oil and then the kale to the onions and garlic. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water, straight from the pot, to the pan as well. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes, until tender.

Drain the spaghetti, reserving a bit of the cooking liquid. Add the spaghetti to the kale mixture. Add lemon juice and a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking liquid; toss to combine, adding a handful of Parmesan cheese and more liquid by tablespoonfuls if it’s too dry. Serve immediately.