Kale and Anchovy Pasta
Green sauce had a bit of a moment last year. Everywhere I looked there was a recipe and some sort of variation on this popular, vibrant sauce, always following a similar and failsafe method of blanching greens, blending until smooth and tossing with pasta.
I too have posted my fair share of the green stuff - basically any sort of leafy, wilting green that needs saving from the back of the fridge works incredibly well here. I usually blanche with a clove or two of garlic, then blend with salt, Parmigiano, olive oil, sometimes lemon, sometimes an anchovy or caper, and of course pasta water (ensures a perfectly smooth result!).
This take on the green sauce is a little different - it starts with a stripped back green base (just kale!), that is eventually married with a deeply savoury and umami packed anchovy butter base. The result? Heavenly - for anyone that favours that flavour profile. If anchovy is not for you, why not check out my spinach and sausage pasta instead?
Serving this with burrata is kind of essential in my eyes - the creamy neutrality of the cheese really balances the punches the sauce brings. You could also sub this for ricotta.
Kale and Anchovy Pasta
Serves 2
Ingredients
4-5 large stems of curly kale, leaves removed and stems discarded
Extra virgin olive oil
3-6 anchovy fillets (depending on your salty preference!)
20g unsalted butter
250g pasta (I like linguine for this)
1 ball burrata, to serve
Method
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the kale leaves. Cook for a minute before transferring to an ice bath - this helps keep the sauce vibrant.
While that’s cooling, salt the same pot of boiling water and add your pasta.
Strain the leaves and squeeze out excess water, then add to a blender with 2 tbsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1/3 cup pasta water. Blend until smooth, then set aside.
In a sauté pan, heat the butter then add the anchovies. Sauté for a couple of minutes until the anchovies start breaking down, then use a whisk to break them apart until they’re homogenous with the butter - remove from the heat while your pasta finishes cooking so as not to burn the butter.
Once the pasta is just al dente, put the butter sauce back on a low heat and add the pasta directly to it, followed by the green sauce and a good amount of pasta water (1/4 cup). Stir, toss and agitate to marry and coat all of the pasta perfectly.
Divide between two bowls and serve topped with a dollop of burrata, crack of pepper and drizzle of olive oil.
