This scarcely counts as as recipe but is so delicious that I feel that I have to share…..
Through one of those muddles which happen every now and then to everyone who orders on line, I ended up last week with an amazing quantity of fascinatingly different greens in my Farm Direct delivery – positively enough to stock a shop. So, inspiration was needed to think of ways to use them.
As it happened I also had several packets of Del ‘Ugo’s delicious new chick pea pasta sitting in the fridge – so this one was a no brainer. However, it was so simple – and so delicious – that I thought that I needed to spread the word. However, be warned – you do need a really good olive oil. We are lucky enough to have a can of fresh pressed from a friend’s olive groves in the Tuscan hills – but there are lots of really good olive oils around.
The dish’s first outing was just pasta and greens and oil, but I then made it again for a family party last weekend and thought I would add a few more ingredients. It works well both ways – the first tastes possibly fresher, the second slightly more complex and interesting.
Pasta and greens – scarcely a recipe…..
Pasta of your choice – although the Del ‘Ugo chick pea pasta works particularly well – approx. 75g per person
Greens of your choice – I used a combination of kale and purple sprouting broccoli – approx. a handful per person – chopped roughly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
lots of good olive oil
Optional extras:
2 – 3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 – 3 leeks, finely sliced
4 – 6 anchovies, finely chopped, plus some oil from the tin
extra tbsp olive oil
If you are using the optional extras, gently cook the garlic, leeks and anchovies in the olive oil very gently until they are quite soft: 10–15 minutes.
Cook the pasta in plenty of well salted boiling water.
Steam the greens till quite soft.
Drain the pasta, retaining a bit of the cookng water. Mix the steamed greens and retained cooking water into the pasta, season well and dress very generously with the oil.
If you are using the optional extras mix them in at the same time. Eat and enjoy!!