Kale & Garlic Pasta

I've been going to the stores at odd hours recently, which means day time around noonish. It's these times, when normal households shop, that are actually quite fascinating. One, it's a lot less crowded than shopping in the evenings. Two, you get access to far more ingredients than you would if you were running into a store just before closing time. Three, everything is a whole lot fresher. I've just suddenly realised I've been getting wilted veggies most of my life!

And I also realised, my local grocery store would carry a lot of the exotic stuff I read about online, if only I were to go at the right times. I'd been reading about Kale for a while online and I'd never had a clue as to what this leaf was. For a while, every recipe I looked up seemed to have kale, though I still fail to understand the kale chips part. But yes, even that seems possible. Perhaps, one day, even I'll try it out in my kitchen.

So I got this box of American Curled Kale, which surprisingly was not too expensive. I kept wondering what to do with it for a day or so and then decided to throw caution to the winds and do my own thing. Thankfully, it worked out fine. One thing I remembered from all the articles I'd read up was that kale takes a while to cook. I chewed on a leaf raw, and surprisingly it tasted sweet to me. Anyone else experienced that? It was also quite chewy, but that was something I'd been expecting.

So there is nothing much to this recipe. One day, someone's going to ask me why all these entries and instructions for the most basic things. But then, as I know it, it's for these basics that instructions are most needed. Building it up from there is an easy enough route after that. Maybe you'd want a pasta bake after that, or perhaps an egg custard using kale. But hey, everyone needs a starting point.




Serves 1

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 cups Kale (stalks removed, leaves torn)
• 4 cloves garlic sliced
• 1/2 red onion finely diced
• salt, pepper & red chilli flakes
• A drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 100g Dried Spaghetti

1. Cook the Pasta in salted water al dente. Drain and keep aside.
2. In a frying pan, heat olive oil on medium low heat
3. Gently saute garlic, onions till onions are translucent.
4. Add kale. Cover and cook for 10 mins and let it cook in its own steam
5. Remove from heat once kale is tender but still has a bite to it.
6. Toss with cooked pasta.
7. Add seasoning, chilli flakes & extra virgin olive oil.
8. Toss once again to evenly season.
9. Serve with warm crusty bread.