Love for Food

The past few days in New York have been terribly gloomy and rainy. When I got home from work last night all I wanted to do is curl up in front of Mad Men with a warm meal. I did a quick inventory of what I had in the house and decided to go for a pasta dish. I've avoided pasta for a long time. Watching my figure and pasta did not mix. But I missed it too much. In an effort to make it healthy I added kale and white beans. Kale is my new favorite veggie. I love it because it's not as bitter as some of the other's I've been experimenting with this year (turnip greens, radish greens, chard, etc). I also used whole wheat pasta. I found the recipe here, on the Serious Eats website. I modified the recipe just a tad. I did feel the need to add the cheese and a good sprinkle of salt. When I first tried the dish sans cheese and salt it was definitely a little blah. The cheese and the salt gave it that extra oomph! I added quite a bit of cheese. If your on WW or trying to watch what you eat I would suggest adding maybe 1/8 cup cheese per serving instead. Just made sure you use a high quality parm. The final result was quite good and I it made me happy to know that I was eating something healthy. The white beans add some heartiness (and fiber) without the addition of meat. The leftovers heated up great. It even perked up my work day knowing a delicious lunch was waiting for me. Ingredients: Serves Four
1 tablespoon olive oil1/2 cup diced onion
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 pounds kale, chopped into 1-inch pieces (I used one bunch)
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable brothSalt and black pepper
2 cups canned white cannellini beans, rinsed (1 can)
1/2 pound pasta
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

• Pour the oil into a skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Then add the garlic, pepper flakes, and half of the kale. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• Dump in the tomatoes and the rest of the kale. Season with a pinch of salt. Cover the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes.
• Add the beans and cook until warmed.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for one minute less than the directions on the packaging. When done, drain the pasta and toss it into the pan with the kale. Turn the heat to high and cook for an additional minute.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with Parmesan if using, and serve.