TL/DR – Kale Alfredo. A satisfying vegetarian dinner, Kale Alfredo is creamy, vibrantly green, delicious and packed with dark leafy green nutrients. Picky eater approved! –
The first attempt I made at this recipe during the development stage, I accidentally made kale whipped cream. “Oops.” So my first note to add here is: do not, under any circumstances, put heavy cream in a food processor unless you intend to make whipped cream.
The recipe that resulted from subsequent attempts is a vast improvement from its origins. It is truly delicious and worth the extra step of blanching the kale. The best part is that it uses a lot of kale. If you have a ridiculous amount of kale popping off in your garden, then this recipe will make you smile. It also works with frozen kale that has been thawed.
Start by bringing salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Roughly chop a bunch of kale, about 5 or 6 cups. Blanch the kale by boiling it in the water for 4 minutes, then drain it and dunk it in an ice bath. This step is annoying, but it mellows out the kale flavor and also locks in a deep green and appealing color.
The nice part is that you don’t have to wring the heck out of the blanched, cooled kale. It should be squeezed out, but it doesn’t have to be devoid of all moisture because next it goes into a food processor along with some salt, pepper, nutmeg (I know, weird but so necessary,) and a small amount of vegetable or chicken broth.
It needs a touch of moisture in order to process until it’s smooth. Stop and scrape the sides of the processor bowl a couple of times to achieve this consistency.
In a large skillet, sauté some diced yellow onion in butter for a few minutes, then add minced garlic and cook for another minute or so. Deglaze the pan with some white wine and allow it to cook off. Then add the processed kale and cook it until most of the moisture has cooked off. Hit it with a little bit more wine and cook that off, too.
Add heavy cream to the skillet and stir everything well. Allow it to simmer on low for a few minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in shredded Mizithra cheese. I use the Old Spaghetti Factory brand, which is a Mizithra-Romano blend. Use grated Parmesan as an alternative. It works fine. After the cheese has been incorporated, taste and season the sauce with a touch more salt if needed.
Add any variety of cooked noodles to the skillet. Pictured in this post are giant fusilli, (because why buy the regular size if the giant size is on sale?) Serve immediately with a bit more cheese sprinkled on top of each portion.
For a less labor intensive, lighter, equally vibrant green pasta dish, try Pasta with Spinach Herb Sauce or Pistachio Pesto Macaroni.
Kale Alfredo
A satisfying vegetarian dinner, Kale Alfredo is creamy, vibrantly green, delicious and packed with dark leafy green nutrients. Picky eater approved!
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of lacinato kale, roughly chopped, about 5 or 6 cups, or 1 10 ounce bag of frozen kale thawed completely.
- 1 T plus 1/2 t kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 t ground black pepper
- 1/4 t ground nutmeg
- 1/4 c low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 small yellow onion, diced, about 1 c
- 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T butter
- 1/4 c white wine
- 1 1/2 c heavy cream
- 1/2 c shredded Mizithra or grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 oz pasta, any variety
- fusilli works well
Directions
- Step 1 Bring about 6 cups of water and 1 T kosher salt to boil in a medium saucepan. Chop the kale. When the water boils, place the kale into the water and boil it for 4 minutes.
- Step 2 While the kale blanches, Prepare an ice bath in a large mixing bowl. After 4 minutes, quickly drain the kale and place the sieve or strainer with the drained kale into the ice bath. Stir it gently for 2 minutes until it is completely cooled, then drain the kale again, squeezing out the majority of its moisture by hand. It is ok if it is a bit wet, it does not have to be completely dry.
- Step 3 Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil for the pasta. Once it boils, follow the pasta package directions.
- Step 4 Place the drained kale into a food processor with the low sodium broth, 1/4 t kosher salt, 1/4 t ground black pepper and the nutmeg. Process until the kale is a smooth pesto consistency, pausing to scrape down the bowl once or twice.
- Step 5 In a large skillet over medium high heat, sauté the onions in the butter for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the white wine and allow it to cook completely off, stirring frequently.
- Step 6 Add the processed kale mixture to the skillet and over medium heat, allow the moisture from the kale to cook mostly off. Add a touch more white wine here if desired and allow that to cook off.
- Step 7 Add the heavy cream to the skillet and stir well. Lower the heat and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Step 8 Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cheese until it is well incorporated. Taste the sauce at this point and add a touch more salt if needed.
- Step 9 Drain the pasta, add it to the skillet and toss it until it is completely coated in the sauce. Serve immediately with a bit more cheese sprinkled on top of each portion.
