Pasta with Tomatoes, Garlic, Olives, Kale
This is one of my go-to meals when I have no idea what's for dinner. Like the other night when I got home @ 7:30, hadn't made it to the market in two days and had a friend visiting. It's pretty simple: pasta with tomatoes (I use my favorite jar of Rao's Marinara Sauce when I'm really pressed for time), sautéed garlic, Kalamata olives, red pepper flakes, chopped kale, lemon zest, fresh basil and Parm. Sometimes I'll throw some chopped almonds in the sauce, as well. I serve it with a salad and some red wine, and it's a super satisfying meal after a long day. And it makes for amazing leftovers, which we finished up for lunch yesterday.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 lb. dried pasta of your choice
1-24 oz. jar of Rao's Marinara Sauce (or crushed tomatoes)
2 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/2 cup diced Kalamata olives
2 cups chopped kale
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Zest of 1 lemon
Chopped almonds, if desired
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Sauté garlic in olive oil until it just lightly browned. Add olives, kale and red pepper flakes and continue sautéing for about 5 minutes.
Boil water for pasta.
Add Rao's or chopped tomatoes to pan with vegetables and simmer for about 15 minutes as you cook pasta.
Mix lemon zest and almonds (if using) to sauce just before serving.
Add drained pasta to large bowl, mix with sauce and serve.
Top pasta with lots of Parmesan and fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.
