Pasta with Breadcrumbs and Kale + Bubbly Manhattan

We're celebrating Meatless Mondays with balanced, delicious meal plans. We hope you'll join us -- whether you're vegetarian all the time or just here and there. 

Today: What to cook when you don't feel like cooking.

 

You're busy this week. We get that. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. If you're a host, maybe you're trying to wrap your mind around feeding 15 guests -- and fitting them into an impossibly small apartment. If you're a guest, maybe you're wracking your brain for the best drinks and desserts to bring along. 

But even though Thanksgiving mayhem is in full force, you still have to eat dinner, right? When you can't imagine cooking anything at all, find it in yourself to make this pasta recipe. All it takes is a boil and a quick sauté for a comforting meal that's so much better than instant mac n' cheese.

As a reward, shake up a Manhattan to sip before, during, and after the meal. Because this week, Lord knows we could all use a cocktail. 

The Menu

Take advantage of our handy grocery list and game plan, or click the recipe photos or titles to see (and save and print) the full recipes.

Linguine with Breadcrumbs and Kale by Hotplate Gourmet

Bubbly Manhattan by Collin 

The Grocery List

Serves 2 to 3

1/2 pound linguine (or any other type of pasta you have on hand)
2 slices day-old bread
1/2 bunch kale
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 ounces good rye whiskey
1 bottle of IPA
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1 orange
1 chocolate bar

We bet you have garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in your pantry. If not, add those to your list.

The Plan

1. Drop everything and make yourself a drink. Measure the rye and vermouth into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass, pouring in the beer at the same time. Top with a thin slice of orange.

2. Sip, breathe, relax.

3. Now that you’re feeling better, cook the pasta in salted water. Process the bread in a food processor until it's the consistency of cornmeal.

4. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a frying pan and toast the breadcrumbs until golden brown. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and stir until everything’s toasty.

5. Add the chopped kale and a little bit of the pasta water and sauté. 

6. Toss the breadcrumb mixture with the drained pasta and season to taste. Mix in the Parmesan and a bit more olive oil. Eat your fill of pasta, then make another drink and break off a piece of chocolate. 

Photos by Sarah Shatz and James Ransom