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Make this vibrant kale pasta sauce, then check out our tomato pasta sauce, classic pesto and kale pesto. Or check out our pasta sauce recipes for sauces including cheese sauce, white sauce and béchamel sauce for lasagne

Ingredients

  • 400g rigatoni
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • a pinch dried chilli flakes, to taste
  • pecorino, to serve

KALE SAUCE

  • 400g kale (you can use cavolo nero, curly kale or Russian kale)
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 100g olive oil

Method

  • STEP 1

    For the kale sauce, slice the leaves from the stalks, reserving the stalks for later. Put a large pan of water on to boil and add plenty of salt.

  • STEP 2

    In a separate smaller pan, gently cook the garlic with the olive oil until the garlic begins to soften – but make sure it doesn’t burn. Carefully remove the garlic from the oil and discard.

  • STEP 3

    Blanch the kale stalks in the pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then add the leaves and blanch for a further 1-2 minutes or until just turning soft.

  • STEP 4

    Drain the kale and leave to cool. Once cooled, blend with the garlic oil in a high-powered blender to make a smooth paste.

  • STEP 5

    Cook the pasta following pack instructions then drain, reserving 100ml of pasta water.

  • STEP 6

    In a large heatproof pan, melt the butter, stir through the kale sauce and toss in the cooked pasta. Add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary. Add a squeeze of lemon depending on how sour and citrussy you like it, and season to taste.

  • STEP 7

    Divide between plates and sprinkle with the dried chilli, some black pepper and a good grating of pecorino.

Try more easy kale recipes

Kale and gnocchi parmesan bake
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