Tuscan Kale, Sage and Pancetta
I was inspired by Athena Calderone of Eyeswoon to create this dish.
While swiping through my insta-stories one night, I found she was using pancetta as the base of her pasta dish. So many times have I walked past the pancetta at Trader Joe’s but had never thought to use it for anything. I knew exactly where it was too - right near the refrigerated pasta and chicken sausage.
I decided to waste no time and off I went to grab the ingredients. I also decided to add a few more things to make this dish my own: sun-dried tomatoes, sage, fresh lemon juice and toasted bread crumbs.
The result was bursting with flavor. The cubed bits of pancetta added a hint of smokiness and made T super happy to know there was an element of meat. He’s always worried he will be left hungry!
INGREDIENTS
(2T) EVOO
(4oz) Cubed Pancetta
(5 cloves) Garlic, minced
(3) Shallots, halved and sliced
(1/4 C) Sage, chopped
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt / Pepper, to taste
Tagliatelle - we cooked approx. 1lb and added to skillet as needed (we did not use all of the pasta)
(1/4 C) Reserved Pasta Liquid
(8 C / Whole Bag) Tuscan Kale, roughly chopped with ribs & stems removed
(1/2 C) Sun dried Tomatoes, chopped
(1/2 lemon), juiced
Breadcrumbs, toasted
Grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, to taste
SERVES: 2
DIRECTIONS
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and pasta. Cook as instructed on pasta package. Be sure to reserve 1/4 C of pasta water before straining pasta.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat up a bit of EVOO and sauté bread crumbs until they turn golden brown but not burnt. Set aside on a plate.
In the same skillet, sauté pancetta (2 or so min). Then add garlic, shallots, sage, red pepper flakes, pepper & a pinch of salt. Sauté for another 3-5min until shallots golden brown.
Add the kale into the skillet and toss until slightly wilted.
Add sun dried tomatoes, pasta (don’t overdo the amount of pasta you put in or it will take away from the taste created by the ingredients already in the skillet). Toss.
Add reserved cooking liquid and lemon juice. Toss.
To serve, top with breadcrumbs and grated pecorino or parmesan cheese. Add any salt/pepper, to taste.
