Quick to make, and delicious to eat! Superfood kale is cooked with caramelised onions, cream and smoked salmon, to create a gorgeous sauce for pasta. Yum!
From time to time we get a bag of kale in our organic vegetable box. I’ve tried cooking it different ways, but after much experimentation, it seems that adding caramelised onions and double cream is really the way to go. You could say that about most things, I suppose, but it’s a treatment that really turns kale from something mundane into something delicious.
Smoked salmon and Kale pasta
This kale pasta dish is very similar to my recipe for gnocchi with cavolo nero and cream only with pasta instead of gnocchi and kale instead of cavolo nero! Plus, I also decided to up the protein content with the addition of some smoked salmon. I figured that the smoked fish would definitely pair well with the cream, and the smoky flavour would be good with the kale, too.
My little smoked salmon super-fan!
My daughter Kipper is a big fan of smoked salmon (there was very nearly none to go into the sauce!) so I was confident she would like part of this dish at least. I was less certain about her reaction to the kale, but it was sufficiently infused with oniony, smoky cream that she scoffed it down. I must confess to feeling a bit smug, getting my pre-schooler to yum down a plate of leafy greens!
Ingredients in creamy smoked salmon and kale pasta
When I reviewed the ingredients for this delicious pasta dish I realised that it’s actually quite an indulgent recipe! Lots of rich and luxurious ingredients alongside the more mundane ones like pasta and kale. To make this smoked salmon and kale pasta yourself you will need:
- Kale – or a similar leafy green vegetable like cavolo nero
- Smoked salmon – use posh slices, trimmings, or leftovers from your weekend bagels
- Onion – for rich, caramelised flavours
- Olive oil and butter – for sautéing the onions
- Double cream – to create a rich and indulgent sauce
- Black pepper to season
- Pasta – of course! Whichever shape you choose, although I like these funky bowties.
A Quick and Efficient pasta dinner!
Another big advantage of this kale pasta dish is that’s it’s super-quick to make. You can rustle up the sauce in less time than it takes to boil the pasta, so as fast and tasty mid-week dinners go, it’s a winner.
I think this will be my go-to recipe whenever the kale shows up in the veg box from now on. This, or a variation on it, in any case. I might try substituting miscellaneous foodstuffs in place of the smoked salmon next time. I’ll keep you posted.
This made enough for two adults and a small person. There were no leftovers…
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📖 Recipe
Creamy smoked salmon & kale pasta
Ingredients
- 225 g bunch kale (or thereabouts)
- 150 g pasta bowties or similar short pasta
- 1 small onion
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 200 ml double cream
- 85-100 g smoked salmon
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- 225 g (8 oz) bunch kale (or thereabouts)Wash the kale thoroughly. Remove the white ‘rib’ from the centre of each leaf, and then cut the leaves crosswise into 1cm strips. Set aside.
- 150 g (1½ cups) pasta bowties or similar short pastaPut the pasta to cook in a large pan of boiling water.
- 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 small onionPeel and finely slice the onion, and place in a shallow pan with the butter and olive oil. Cook over a low heat until everything is very soft but not browning, about 3-4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Blanch the kale for 1 minute, then drain well and add to the onion mixture. Turn up the heat slightly and mix well. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
- 200 ml (scant 1 cup) double cream, 85-100 g (3-3½ oz) smoked salmonStir the cream into the kale and onions, mix well, and reduce the heat to a minimum. Cover and continue to cook until the pasta is done. Cut the smoked salmon into small pieces.
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepperDrain the pasta. Add the smoked salmon and black pepper to the kale, then toss in the pasta. Combine everything together and serve at once.
Nutrition
More delicious pasta recipes
No kale? No problem! Try one of these delicious fishy pasta recipes instead:
- Creamy salmon pasta with peas
- Salmon, leek and dill pasta
- Fish pie pasta bake
- Salmon, broccoli and tomato pasta bake
More recipes for leafy greens
And if you just can’t get enough leafy greens, how about:
- Sicilian-style kale with capers, pine nuts, currants and lemon
- Cavolo nero and hazelnut pesto
- Spinach souffle potatoes
- Green shakshuka
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