This meal was made the night before I cleaned the fridge. You know what it is like to try and cook a meal when your refrigerator looks like mine did? I just stand there and stare… the usable food was slim pickings…and, I didn’t want to shop. 🙂 And, what was there was very disorganized and hard to spot. Slowly I spotted the Kale and the romanesco…hmmmm…and then tomatoes and Parmesan cheese and half and half…that was starting to sound like dinner!
I am SO thankful that this sauce came together because it was delicious and packed with nutritional veggies! Because it was pureed, the veggies were only evident by their green flecks in the sauce and a bit of texture. And, because the kale and romanesco were pan roasted, they added delicious flavor. My whole family enjoyed it too! I will make it again for sure. Looking back as I type this, I am thinking that a few carrots would also have been delicious in here. I will try that next time. Don’t let the kale or romanesco scare you away…all mixed together, it was completely yummy.
Ingredients:
4 cups Kale, finely chopped
S cups Romanesco, chopped (Cauliflower would work also)
10 whole Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
4 cloves Garlic
1/4 cup half and half
2 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 cup Pinot Grigio (white wine) (or chicken or veggie stock)
Salt
Pepper
1 lb Pasta
Instructions
Heat the butter and olive oil in your dutch oven.
When the butter is melted, add in the chopped Romanesco. Cook on medium for 10 minutes.
Add in the Kale and continue to cook until both veggies are nicely browned.
Add the white wine (or Chicken or Veggie Stock) and cook until it reduces by half. Scrape the bottom of the pan occasionally to get all of the flavorful bits from the bottom.
Top the veggie mixture with the tomatoes and garlic and stir. It looks like a pretty dry pasta sauce right now, but just wait. 🙂
Here it is after 10 minutes.
And, after 15 more.
Now, with your immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. Add in your Parmesan cheese and half and half and stir.
In the meantime cook your pasta according to package directions. When it is finished, scoop the pasta directly from the hot water into your sauce. The little bit of pasta water that gets in will thin your sauce and make it a bit creamier.
Stir it up and let it absorb some of the sauce. Serve in bowls.
Blessings!
I added carrots and a little broccoli. We’re eating in a few minutes and I’ll let you know how it goes… we get the same produce box, I’m guessing. 🙂 Thanks, your creativity in cooking is way more advanced than mine!
Great! It does sound like the same box :). I look forward to hearing! 🙂 I had to get creative to use all of that kale 🙂
It was a little heavier than most sauces I make so my family wasn’t giving me high fives, but it tasted good and blended the veggies together well. It was a great way to use up those veggies from the box, that is what caught my eye when I was skimming through the FB feed. I should check for more of your ideas when my box is stumping me. 🙂
I totally agree that there are times when there are things in the box that are stumpers. I think where I get stuck is when I look at the veggie and can’t picture my family eating it. 🙂 Mixing them up like this helps with that issue :). Thank you for the feedback. I completely agree that it is on the heavier side. Have a wonderful night!