Kale and Beet Pasta

Ingredients:

The rich color palette of this dish and complexity of the red wine and quick kale pesto make this a crowd pleaser, great for that special someone, a dinner party, or an evening alone!

2 large fresh beets
1 Bunch kale
1/4 cup walnuts
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt, divided
2 tsp black pepper, divided
1 cup Olive Oil, divided
1 lb Orchiette, Fusili, Raddiatore, Spaghetti or Fettucine pasta. Experiment.
Parmesan Cheese
2 cups fresh basil

Instructions:

Use food processor, ricer, grater, etc. to finely grate the beets, start with both of them grated into a large bowl to divide later.

Use the food processor or blender to puree the pesto ingredients:

Around half of the kale, washed and rough chopped
1/2 cup basil
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup walnuts

Drizzle 1/2 cup of olive oil into the mixture and process until very smooth, peanut butter texture.

Using a strainer over your pasta pot, strain beet mixture to remove around 1 cup of excess juice and color the water.

Return shredded beets to bowl and cook pasta in beet water to al dente following package instructions.

In a large frying pan or wok, sautee the beets, chopped kale, 2 minced cloves of garlic and remaining salt and pepper until kale is tender, around 10 minutes. Add additional olive oil as needed. Add thyme. Stir in pesto and heat until coated. Finally, stir in the pasta.

Garnish with grated or microplaned parmesan cheese and the remainder of the fresh basil.

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