Braised Kale with Pasta

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have in my lifetime been called many things. Au courant has never been has never been one of them. That probably explains how it happened I "discovered" Gojee months after the rest of the blogging community had been seduced by its photography and hand-curated recipes. The site houses a really special collection of dishes that I found while doing a search for recipes that use kale. Gojee pointed me back to a recipe that had been developed by Molly Wizenberg for Bon Appetit Magazine. As it happened, I didn't have all the ingredients I need to make her dish, but I had enough of them to fashion a pasta that was close to it. Bob is still recovering from surgery, so a trip to the store was out of the question and I had to go with what I had on hand. Similar would have to be good enough. Molly's pasta sounds delicious and you can see her original recipe, here. My version of the dish appears below, but before you skim through it I want to issue a warning regarding the use of salt. Proceed with caution. The pancetta and Parmesan are both salty. Do no additional salting until you taste the completed sauce. Remember you can always put more in, but once it's there you're stuck. Nuff said! Here's the recipe.

Braised Kale with Pasta...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Molly Wizenburg via Gojee.com

Ingredients:

1 bunch lacinato kale,washed, large center ribs and stems removed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

4-oz. diced pancetta

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound spaghetti

Directions:

1) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy pot set over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Add sliced garlic and diced pancetta and cook for 5 minutes longer. Add kale. Drizzle with reserved tablespoon olive oil and cook until leaves wilt. Add water and cover pot. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat until kale is tender, about 20 minutes. Add lemon juice. Sprinkle with cheese and toss well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

2) Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add cooked spaghetti to kale mixture in pot. Moisten with 2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid; toss to combine, adding more liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

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