Kale Spaghetti Genovese Recipe

I love Italian food. That that cheesy, carb-filled deliciousness is sheer perfection.  

Fortunately, for the health-conscious among us, there are ways of enjoying the glory of the Mediterranean cooking, by tweaking it slightly, so that it is more nutrient dense than the original. 

Traditional Spaghetti Genovese is made with refined white pasta, potatoes, and pesto-- which is like holy carb-tastic! This version swaps the spaghetti for whole wheat, removes the potato, and adds fistfuls of kale to the sauce (I found this recipe in a market leaflet, and adapted it into a slightly healthier version-- the nutritional info at the bottom also reflects that). The great thing is that the flavours are nearly identical!

I think this recipe is great on its own, or served with an entree of your choice. At the butcher's there were some beautiful  rainbow trout, so ours was served a la pescatore. 

 Kale Spaghetti Genovese 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

 Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups (50g) kale, with stalks removed
• 1 cup tightly packed (25g) fresh basil, just leaves, no stalks
• 3/4 cup (75g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano (plus extra for serving) 
• 1/2 cup (100ml) extra virgin Olive Oil
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• Grated zest and just 1 lemon (I prefer the juice of just half the lemon)
• 300g whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 large fistfuls (200g) trimmed green beans

 Instructions 

1) Place, in a blender or food processor, the kale, basil, toasted pine nuts (I leave a few out so I can add them in whole later), cheese, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest. Pulse until completely smooth, adding more olive oil if needed. Set aside.

2) Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling water according to the pack instructions. Add the beans to the pan for the final 2 minutes of cooking time. 

3) Drain the spaghetti and beans, return to the pan and toss through with a few tablespoons of the pesto. Serve in bowls, topped with a little extra grated cheese and grinding of black pepper. 

 Nutritional Info  (per serving, minus fish): 473 calories | 21.5g fat | 4.3g saturated fat | 52.4g carbs | 3g sugars | 6.3g fiber | 14.5g protein | 0.2g salt (using half of the pest for full recipe)