Lemon Pasta

I'm renaming this dish to lemon pasta because that is what it itastes like.  My neighbor sent me this recipe from 5 Dinners.  I'm pretty sure it cost me more than $5 to make it, but I also buy organic everything - and I also don't use parmesan cheese from the jar (i think i spent $5 on just cheese).  Either way, it made a lot and it was REALLY good.  I took it to a family reunion (worked out great, nothing in it needed to be cold or hot, and it is still edible after being out for an hour - the reunion was inside not out in the 100 degree heat!)  2 days later, it is still yummy.

this recipe is modified from the original.  the original is HERE:  http://www.5dollardinners.com/2011/07/pasta-with-kale-lemon-and-parmesan-%E2%80%93-friday-night-bite.html

ok, i started by washing a bunch of kale leaves.  if you haven't bought kale before, they usually come bundled in the store, maybe $2 or $3 a bunch  a bunch maybe 15 leaves.  i bought the curly ones, but any ones would do.  i was also making another kale dish, so i only used 6 leaves. the flat ones are good too, maybe not as tough.  the curly ones have to be chopped up a lot so that they are in bite sized pieces.  ANYWAY... you wash them, shake them, lay them on a towel to drip even more, then shake them again and just grab the green part and pull the stem off.  the stem goes up most of the leaf.  don't worry about tearing the leaf because you chop that up anyway.  after i have all the leaves separated, i hold them tight and chop them into about 1/2 inch pieces, and then turn and keep chopping.  then i keep chopping and chopping until they are all small pieces.  it may be personal preference, but i don't like big pieces of kale.  kale is NOT lettuce, like lettuce i mean, lettuce chews easily.  kale is tough, so i try to chop it as much as i can.  i'm encouraging myself to eat it.  :)

next, you boil a pot of water.  the goal is to cook a box of pasta.  i got the multicolored spirals, 1 lb (16 oz).  this makes a lot of pasta.  this recipe could easily be halved.  when the water gets boiling, i add a lot of salt (2 tbs?) and the pasta.  i set my timer for 8 minutes.  when the timer buzzed, i added the kale and stirred.  i reset the timer for 3 minutes.  when it buzzed again, i poured all of it into a strainer and then lightly rinsed with cold water.  

while the pasta water was getting hot, i prepared the remaining ingredients, which are few!  take 2 lemons and juice them.  add 3 Tbs of olive oil and whisk it together.  also grate and/or measure out 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. 

when the pasta and kale are ready and not steaming hot, you just mix everything together.  i put them in a gallon size ziploc bag to make the portable to the reunion, then just poured it into a serving bowl when i got there.  it was SO easy to make.

seriously, though, if you were making this for your family at home, i would highly recommend making just half.  it is delish, but it is a lot!  it goes great with the kale salad that i took to the reunion too (i'll post that one next).

let me know if you make it!  i hope you love it too!