Garlic Kale Pasta

Garlic Kale Pasta

I love garlic, kale and pasta, so it was only natural for me to create a dish of garlic kale pasta. Almost anything I cook has garlic in it, and this isn’t my first post that involves kale. In case you missed it, I’ve sautéed kale and chard, made a hearty bowl of kale sausage soup and made a kale citrus salad

I had one last bunch of kale left from my recent Spud box, and it ended up being a cooler day as compared to the past week so a bowl of pasta felt due. During a recent trip to the Italian Centre we picked up a bunch of dried pasta and I still had one box of capellini (a.k.a. angel hair) leftover; so it was the kale I needed to use up and that box of pasta that inspired this garlic kale pasta recipe.

Garlic Kale Pasta

Garlic Kale Pasta

I knew I wasn’t going to be using a cream or tomato sauce for this pasta but I still needed it to have a lot of flavour. I started off roasting a full bulb of garlic by putting it into a tin pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper, on the barbecue for about 20 mins. I also threw on some chicken breasts seasoned with garlic powder, salt and pepper, onto the grill. You could do all of this in the oven or even on a skillet on the stove. 

Next ingredients included a bunch of kale, a clamshell of assorted colours of cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, fresh grated parmesan cheese, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Garlic Kale Pasta

The pasta I had only needed 2-3 minutes to cook, so I threw the tomatoes and kale in the pot of boiling water with the pasta. In 2-3 minutes, I drained the pasta and veggies, drizzled olive oil over everything and gave it a good toss. Top the pasta with the grilled chicken and roasted garlic cloves, sprinkle some fresh grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and then squeeze fresh lemon juice all over, and voila! Tasty, garlic kale pasta! 

Garlic Kale Pasta

Author Chews and Brews

Ingredients

  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • Garlic powder
  • 1 box of capellini
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 1 clamshell of cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut the top and bottom off of the garlic bulb, remove all the garlic paper and separate the cloves. Put in a tin dish and drizzle olive oil over the cloves. Sprinkle salt and pepper over cloves and put on barbecue for about 20 minutes, stirring the cloves occasionally.
  2. Season chicken breast with garlic powder, salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil over. Put on grill for about 20-30 minutes until cooked through, flipping occasionally.
  3. Remove the rib from the kale and chop up into bite size pieces and set aside.
  4. Chop tomatoes into halves, or quarters if larger, and set aside.
  5. Get a large pot of water boiling with some olive oil and salt. Once boiling, add pasta to the boiling water for amount of time directed on the box. Add the kale and tomatoes to the boiling water when only 2-3 minutes are left on the time.
  6. Drain pasta and vegetables and put into a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil overtop and toss pasta and vegetables around to coat everything.
  7. Add roasted garlic cloves and chicken breast and squeeze fresh lemon juice all over and toss.
  8. Serve with fresh grated pepper, parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Recipe Notes

Chicken breasts and garlic cloves can be done in the oven or in a skillet on the stove instead of on the barbecue if preferred. If in the oven, the garlic should take about the same time. On the stove, break apart and peel the cloves and fry them in some olive oil, low and slow until they start to caramelize. Chicken can be cooked in oven or on skillet, until juices run clear.
Try adding other vegetables like grilled zucchini or roasted red peppers!
Make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken or change the protein to smoked salmon or grilled garlic shrimp.
Use gluten free pasta, or whole grain if you wish!
This dish allows for creativity. Be inspired and make it your own! 🙂

Garlic Kale Pasta

If you don’t have kale or just don’t like it (yes I know there are some of you out there!) use something else like spinach! Or change the vegetables completely and add grilled zucchini or roasted red peppers. If you are vegetarian, simply omit the chicken; and if you are bored of chicken, try it with smoked salmon or grilled garlic shrimp. The options are endless for this dish! Be creative and make it your own! Enjoy!

Do you love pasta more than any food in the world? What ingredients would you use to make this dish yours?

garlic kale pasta

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and decide to purchase the product, I’ll receive a small commission, at not extra cost to you. All opinions in Chews and Brews are of my own. 

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