Serves a Crowd

Pasta with Cavolo Nero Pesto

September 15, 2009
4.5
2 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This is a Tuscan version of the Pesto sauce - I make it with very young and tender Cavolo Nero leaves and becomes very light. —Maria Teresa Jorge

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 12 ounces long pasta (spaghetti or linguine)
  • 2 bunches Cavolo Nero - very young and tender
  • 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 garlic
  • 4 tablespoons Pecorino cheese grated
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 3 tablespoons Pecorino cheese shaved
  • 2 tablespoons pinenuts
Directions
  1. Clean the cavolo nero discarding any tough leaves.
  2. Blanch the tender leaves for 3 minutes in boiling water (you can use the water you will cook the pasta in). Drain the leaves and let cool.
  3. In a food processor mix the cooled Cavolo Nero leaves, the pecorino cheese and the garlic until you have a smooth paste. Add the olive oil and salt and freshly ground pepper until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Add the pesto to a sauteuse, warm it up, add the pinenuts.
  4. Boil the pasta al dente, drain and reserve a cup of cooking water.
  5. Mix the pasta into the pest, mix well and add some pasta cooking water to if the pesto is in lumps. You want a creamy pesto to cover all the pasta.
  6. Serve immediately in a warm plate. Decorate with a few pecorino shavings.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

1 Review

eatboutique January 20, 2010
Love Cavolo Nero, and this looks delightful. Thanks for sharing!