This pasta dish will knock your socks off! I am not a huge pesto fan but this lemon kale pesto is a vibrant green and has flavor galore but won’t stick with you for days on end. The lemon zest and fresh lemon juice really give this pasta the WOW factor that everyone looks for! I made it and ate it as a meal but ideally, this would be a phenomenal side dish to a lovely chicken breast, piece of grilled fish, or a beautiful cut of meat. So let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 bunches kale, stems and center veins removed and washed and rinsed dry
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 lemons, zested and juice (divided)
- 1/2 cup pine nuts (optional if you prefer to omit)
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 lb small pasta shells (I used Wegman’s Amore Girelle)
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan reggiano cheese
Instructions
-
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and saute for 15-20 seconds until fragrant. Remove from the heat immediately and add the kale, red pepper flakes and the lemon zest from 1 lemon. Stir to combine. Let the kale wilt and set aside. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the kale mixture to a food processor and add the optional pine nuts and pulse to combine for 45 seconds. You may need to ask a little bit of water to get it smooth-ish. Once it’s semi-smooth, transfer it back to the skillet and set aside.
-
Cook the pasta according to the package directions and reserve ½ cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta.
-
Heat the kale mixture over medium heat to warm through. Add the pasta, parmesan, ricotta and a little bit of the reserved pasta water and stir to combine. If the sauce is too thick, add more pasta water to thin it out a bit. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, lemon zest, juice and red pepper flakes.