Kale chickpea garlic pasta

I was going to make this (deconstructed falafel salad) tonight; but I was cold and tired all day so I made pasta instead. I also picked up a new pasta shape (trottole) on the weekend and like a $20 bill burning a hole in my pocket, I’ve been thinking about using it all week. For a pantry pasta, it turned out pretty good.

Tonight’s takes:

Husband: “This pasta shape is interesting, but too big. It tastes good though.”

Hector (3 1/2 years old): “It’s pretty good. I like the garlic taste.”

What I used:

• 1 bunch dino kale

• 4 small cloves of garlic

• 1 pkg trottole pasta (453g)

• 1 can chickpeas

• 2 heaping spoonfuls of caramelized onions (had them leftover in the fridge)

• ~1 cup grated parmesan cheese

What I did:

Washed and stripped kale off of thick stems.

Chopped up kale leaves and garlic.

Tossed pasta in boiling salted water. Set timer for 2 minutes less than package al dente time (7 minutes).

Added kale and garlic to Dutch oven with lots of olive oil in it on low heat. Added a healthy pinch of salt. Stirred every few minutes to keep from sticking.

After 7 minutes, added cooked pasta to kale + garlic mixture. Added chickpeas, caramelized onions, a bit more olive oil, and 1/2 cup pasta water.

Stirred and stirred to get sauce to thicken up. Pasta needed more time in the water so added another 1 cup or pasta water and turned the heat up. Cooked for 5 minutes.

Turned heat off. Added parmesan cheese. Stirred to combine. Put lid on and let sit for a full two Margo Price songs (probably 5-7 minutes).

Done!

Served! We added chili flakes to ours at the table - a little heat was nice.

Next time:

I liked the pasta shape! The kale nestled itself into parts of it and it held the sauce well. Plus I love pasta, so having huge pasta noodles are up my alley. I was a bit hesitant on the onions and next time I would definitely add more. The chili flakes were nice, next time I’d add them at the beginning (with the garlic) so the flavour would be more pronounced.

😋😋😋

-Ellisa