An effortless last minute no-sweat recipe for dinner, done with the help of some pantry staples. This dish calls for a fair amount of anchovies. It pays to invest in good quality anchovies in the glass.
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 oz (340 g) spaghetti or linguine
- 4 Tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 3 fat garlic cloves, finely minced
- red pepper (chile) flakes to taste
- 8 anchovies, rinsed and drained on paper towels
- 4 cups (120 g) kale, ready chopped or thinly shredded
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup (110 g) broken walnuts, toasted
- grated Parmesan
Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over moderately high heat. Add garlic and red chile flakes. Cook stirring for 1 minute. Add anchovies cook until they start to dissolve in the oil, about 3 minutes. If necessary, mash anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon while you cook.
Add kale and sauté until it starts to wilt, stirring constantly to coat the kale with the olive oil. Add 2 tablespoon of water and continue cooking for about 5 minutes longer. Add more water if needed and cook until kale is “al dente”. Add walnuts and lemon zest and give it a stir.
While the kale is cooking, bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add pasta and salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Save 1 cup of cooking pasta water. Add drained pasta to the kale mixture and toss it well. If pasta kale mix seems to dry add a bit of the cooking water and stir.
Serve drizzled with extra olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly ground pepper.