Pasta with Chickpeas and Kale

On Saturday, I was watching Lidia's Italy and Lidia made this beautiful pasta with greens and chickpeas. I didn't pay very close attention thinking that it would just be on her website. I then tried to find the recipe on the internet and failed miserably. I knew I had some curly kale left over from my CSA box; and, watching Lidia make the pasta made me crave it.

I found a similar recipe on the blog Serious Eats. This recipe is very easy. You saute the chickpeas in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Then, you add some chopped kale, cover it, and let the kale cook. After the kale is cooked squeeze lemon juice on it.

Add some cook pasta, reserved pasta water, and grated parmesan cheese. How easy is that?

And, doesn't it look delicious? It's sad but writing to this entry is making me crave more of this dish. I'm going to go grab some leftovers. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing if you like this dish as much as I do.

Pasta with Chickpeas and Kale

Adapted from a recipe from the blog Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 head of kale, chard, or other greens

3 tablespoons olive oil (plus some good olive oil for finishing)

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

1 can chickpeas (15 ounce), drained and rinsed

juice of half of a lemon

1 pound rotini or other short pasta

parmesan cheese to taste

1. Separate the leaves on the greens from the stems. Discard the stems. Then cut the leaves into thin strips. Transfer leaves to a colander and rinse well.

2. In a large skillet with a cover, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds. Add chickpeas and cook for a minute. Add greens, in batches, stirring often until they are slightly wilted. Cover the pot and let cook for 15-20 minutes until wilted. Season to taste with salt. Take off heat and stir in lemon juice.

3. In the meantime, add pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

4. Combine greens and pasta and stir to combine. Add pasta water and parmesan cheese to form a light sauce. Serve in bowls, sprinkle more cheese, and drizzle with a bit of good olive oil.

Spicy Root Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

I had a bunch of root vegetables this week (turnips, carrots, and potatoes) and I wanted to do something special with them.

Epicurious had a recipe for Spicy Potato Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives by Paula Wolfert. Since, I had some turnips and carrots I decided to add those for some extra flavor and color. You could make this with just potatoes or add other hearty vegetables you have. I think winter squash, sweet potatoes, or eggplant would be nice additions to this dish. And, don't let the term tagine freak you out. You don't need a special pot. I used a regular pan. Just think of tagine as Moroccan for delicious.

I served this lovely tagine with some couscous. I have never made couscous before; but, I read that it is traditionally served with Moroccan food. The couscous was very easy to make (I just followed the recipe on the box). And, it went well with the tagine.

A note about the preserved lemon. I made my own preserved lemons for this dish. I will give you the recipe in my next post. It is super easy and they keep for 6 months in your fridge so it is worth the effort. If you don't feel like making preserved lemons you can just add some lemon juice and zest at the end.

Spicy Root Vegetable Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

Ingredients

1 pound new potatoes

6 turnips, peeled and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into disks

2 onions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika

pinch of ground cumin

pinch of cinnamon

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1/4 fresh lemon

2 tablespoons of chopped flat-leafed parsley

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

salt

a generous pinch of saffron

1 1/2 cups chicken or veggie stock

24 kalamata olives, pitted

1/2 preserved lemon, chopped

1. Scrub the potatoes and thickly slice into a bowl of cold water.

2. In a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, cook one of the onions in olive oil until it is softened. Add the tomato, ginger, paprika, cumin, garlic, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes and add them to the pan along with the turnips and carrots. Add the other onion and the fresh lemon quarter. Toss to coat the potatoes, onion, and lemon with the parsley, cilantro and salt to taste.

4. Heat the chicken broth in a separate little saucepan and add the saffron into it so they saffron can bloom.

5. Add the saffron and hot broth to the pan with the potato mixture. Bring the pan to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are tender about 40 minutes. 6. Remove the vegetables from the pan and leave the broth and spices in the pan. Add the olives and bring to a boil. Cook at high heat until the broth reduces to a thick sauce. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and garnish with the preserved lemons.