Lemony kale and chickpea pasta
Chickpea pasta tossed with garlicky wilted kale, lemon, chili and a big handful of parmesan, a green, bright bowl that keeps you full.
- 25 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.71 a serving
- 560 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 bunch kale
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 lb chickpea pasta, two 8-oz boxes
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ½ cup grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp water
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 560 calories, 28 g protein, 69 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $2.71 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No kale? Baby spinach works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, cover and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Strip the kale leaves off the stems, tear them into bite-size pieces, and the garlic.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Dolly’s tip: Hold the stem and pull your other hand along it. The leaves strip right off.Warm the oil, garlic and pepper flakes in a large over medium heat for 2 minutes, until the garlic is pale .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Add the kale and water, cover, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once, until the kale is tender and dark green.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Meanwhile, cook the chickpea pasta 1 minute less than the package says. Scoop out 1 cup of , then .
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Chickpea pasta foams up, so leave the lid off, and it turns mushy if overcooked. Taste a minute early.Add the pasta, lemon , 2 tablespoons lemon juice, the parmesan and ½ cup to the kale and until glossy.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heat
Season with the pepper, taste for salt and lemon, and serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
