Kale Pesto Orecchiette with Spicy Crumbled Sausage
A fresh take on one of our Italian family favorites!
Serves: 2-3 People
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, rinsed, de-ribbed, and roughly chopped
1 box of orecchiette pasta
3 spicy Italian sausages, removed from casing
1/4 c raw blanched and slivered almonds
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (I like this one from Bob’s Red Mill.)
2 tbsp lemon juice, plus zest for finishing
1 clove of garlic, peeled and woody stem removed
1/4 c olive oil, plus more for finishing
1 tsp salt (This does not include the salt used for the pasta water.)
1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350*F. Once heated, spread almonds out in a single layer on a sheet tray, and toast for 4 minutes until lightly browned.
While almonds are in the oven, boil 6 quarts of heavily salted water. Taste it! It should be as salty as the sea!
Add the chopped kale to the boiling water and blanch for about a minute. While reserving the pasta water, spoon out the kale and transfer it to an ice bath to stop the cooking. You are just looking to soften the leaves and bring out their most vibrant green color! Drain, and transfer to a kitchen towel. Squeeze out as much of the remaining water as possible. Set aside.
Bring salted water back to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, scoop out at least 1 cup of pasta liquid, and then drain.
While pasta is cooking, heat a medium skillet to medium heat and add sausage. Cook for about 10 minutes, breaking apart the sausage until it is a browned and crispy on the edges.
In a blender add the kale, toasted almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and 1/4 c of the reserved pasta liquid. Blend until smooth. Add more pasta liquid until your pesto has reached a creamy, silky texture (* see note).
Toss pasta with pesto and top with crumbled sausage, lemon zest, freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!
*Note: If you would like to use a more traditional parmesan cheese, it would also be fantastic. Omit the nutritional yeast and lemon juice and substitute with 1/4 c parmesan cheese. This will require more pasta liquid to emulsify the sauce.
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