Serves a Crowd

Linguine with Breadcrumbs and Kale

by:
September 20, 2009
4.5
4 Ratings
Linguine with Breadcrumbs and Kale
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 2-3
Author Notes

Sometimes you just need an amazingly easy, delicious meal to get you through the week. This is a perfect leftover meal - you can use whatever greens you have lying around and day or two old bread makes the best breadcrumbs. It took me about 30 minutes in total (including making the breadcrumbs!) and really spiced up the regular old pasta and tomato sauce routine. - Hotplate Gourmet —Erin H

Test Kitchen Notes

Hotplate Gourmet made her ambitions very clear -- this linguini dish is to be a respectable weeknight dinner, something easy but good. Well, it's more than that -- we think it's terrific. Like an old Italian nonna, Hotplate Gourmet has you use the pasta water to help cook the kale and has you add breadcrumbs to the kale to fortify the pasta. You saute the breadcrumbs in oil, then add garlic and kale, and not too much of either. The garlic gently scents the kale and the greens add substance and sweetness, without making you feeling like you're eating kale for the sake of eating kale! You pull the dish together with some fresh olive oil and grated parmesan and you have a wonderful fall dinner. Next time we make this, we'll set aside the breadcrumbs after they've been toasted and add them back to the pan once the kale has been cooked. Their crunch is so great, you don't want to risk having them get soggy! - A&M —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound linguine
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 slices, day old bread, cubed
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 bunch kale, chopped
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper
Directions
  1. Boil pasta according to the package in salted pot.
  2. Process bread in a food processor until it’s about the consistency of coarse cornmeal.
  3. Heat ¼ c. oil in a frying pan and add the breadcrumbs. Once the breadcrumbs are slightly toasted and golden brown, add the garlic and continue to stir until well toasted.
  4. Add the kale to the frying pan with a little bit of the pasta water and sauté quickly.
  5. Toss the oil mixture with the drained pasta and add salt & pepper to taste. Add the rest of the oil as needed. Mix in parmesan and serve.
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32 Reviews

carme
carme July 24, 2017
what can you substitute kale with?
 
marsiamarsia
marsiamarsia October 23, 2016
I'm wondering if fried tofu cubes might be an interesting addition to this dish. (I'm currently having a love affair with fried tofu, so I am trying it on lots of different dishes.)
 
bgavin
bgavin January 10, 2015
Planning on augmenting this recipe with bacon and pine nuts.
 
Jessica H.
Jessica H. December 12, 2014
Not a fan of this dish at all. Bland and dry. Probably won't be trying it again.
 
phip
phip November 22, 2014
Made this as instructed and was a little disappointed but not daunted. Last night I prepared the kale separately, sautéing it with garlic and pepperoncino. I mixed the cooked kale with the pasta using some of the reserved pasta water and then added the seasoned breadcrumbs. I liked the consistency and flavor better.
 
Lauren C.
Lauren C. October 7, 2014
Liked it, but found it a bit bland and a bit dry... If I had spiced it up with red pepper flakes/sausage/lemon/sundried tomatoes, as the reviews below suggested, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more! That said, it was quick to whip up, and can definitely form the base for a new meal... next time!
 
Caitlin E.
Caitlin E. January 9, 2014
I had beautiful, crispy breadcrumbs, but then I followed the "add a dash of pasta water" step and ended up with soggy breadcrumbs. Wish I'd skipped that part!
 
Frances P.
Frances P. September 24, 2013
So great! Thank you! Used feta because that was all I had. With green salad and baguette it made for a truly simple yet fantastic fast dinner!
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon January 21, 2013
Ate this tonight for meatless monday. We used brown rice pasta, kept the breadcrumbs separate and added a squeeze of lemon. Divine!
 
pavitra
pavitra December 10, 2012
don't forget to add squeeze of fresh lemon. this is a staple pantry meal for me!
 
rhubarb_season
rhubarb_season April 6, 2012
Easy, light and delicious, thanks for the recipe! I did the breadcrumbs separately and decided to add cut up fresh sausage to the dish. I put the garlic in towards the end of the sausage cooking until toasted and tossed it all together.
 
EB L.
EB L. October 20, 2011
added dash of hot pepper flakes.
 
tduck
tduck August 21, 2011
I am too weak to go to the store, so I used seasoned Italian breadcrumbs and a new product at my store baby kale and the results were lovely. My opionated husband found this tasty too (no small task!).
 
eatatvino
eatatvino July 17, 2011
Breadcrumbs with pasta... what a great idea :-)
 
hookmountaingrowers
hookmountaingrowers June 25, 2011
This was pretty disappointing despite the reviews. I definitely added more kale and cooked it for longer than what the recipe called and thought that was a good call but overall it was bland. I would agree with another reviewer to keep the breadcrumbs separately from the kale to retain some crispiness.
 
Elipanda
Elipanda March 15, 2011
This dish was very good and easy to make. To save time I used panko breadcrumbs and the results were probably just as good. Remove breadcrumbs from skillet before cooking the kale, otherwise your breadbrumbs won't be as crunchy. Could use other greens such as chard or spinach rather than Kale.
 
arielleclementine
arielleclementine February 1, 2011
we had this for dinner last night and it was so wonderful! will definitely become a staple in our house! thanks for the great recipe :)
 
melodie1974
melodie1974 January 26, 2011
I feel bad because I seem to be the only one that didn't quite like this recipe. Maybe I missed something... I love everything in it but together, I found it a bit bland. I'll stick to my kale pasta recipe (pasta, kale, onions, garlic and a lot of feta).
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef January 12, 2011
I have some kale that needs to be cooked pronto - your recipe will be supper tonight! Looks like a keeper. Somehow I missed it when it first posted. Thanks!
 
aussiefoodie
aussiefoodie December 19, 2010
Wow - this dish is delicious. I had some kale in the fridge and was looking for something interesting to do with it. I love the homemade breadcrumbs - makes the dish interesting. I also added some sundried tomatoes and green onions that I had in the fridge. Was perfect mid-week as a warm and delicious dinner. I love that the pasta is very hearty, without being heavy and rich.