Cavolo Nero, garlic & pine nut pasta with a creamy basil sauce
This seemingly humble vegan pasta is a surprisingly luxurious dish which offers indulgent, creamy textures, and layer after layer of fragrance and flavour. It’s packed with garlic - both the sweeter golden flavour of sautéed garlic and the bold pungency of a little raw garlic - as well as fragrant basil, and perfumed lemon zest.
Prep time: 10 mins (+ 6 hrs soaking)
Cooking time: 15 mins
This recipe serves 2 people.
Ingredients:
160 g pasta
4 tbsp (30 g) olive oil
4 cloves garlic
200 g cavolo nero
1 lemon, zest only (save the juice for the basil sauce)
1 tsp flaky sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
20 g (⅛ cup) pine nuts
Basil Sauce:
50 g (⅓ cup) cashews
1 clove garlic
1 lemon, juice only
25 g basil
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
½ tsp flaky sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup water
Method:
Soak the cashews in cold water for 6 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse well under running water.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
While the water is heating up, shred the cavolo nero (or any other dark leafy green you are using, such as Kale), peel and finely slice the garlic, and zest the lemon.
Once at a roiling boil throw in the pasta and set a timer as per the packet’s instructions.
In a separate saucepan, heat up 4 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium heat and sauté the garlic for 3 minutes stirring often.
After 3 minutes add the shredded greens and ½ cup of the boiling pasta water as well as a pinch of salt, and pop on the lid so that the green steam and sauté.
Meanwhile, quickly make the sauce. In a blender combine the soaked and drained cashews, 1 clove of minced garlic, the lemon juice, basil leaves, nutritional yeast, sea salt, olive oil and water and whizz on the highest power until silky smooth.
Drain your pasta, and remove the lid from the greens to allow any excess water to steam off then add the toasted pine nuts and lemon zest and stir to combine.
Finally, mix the cooked pasta in with the greens etc. and serve in warmed bowls topped very generously with the basil sauce. Alternatively, stir the basil sauce through your pasta to create a green and creamy bowlful.
Wine pairing?
Much like our Zingy noodle salad with passion fruit and green chilli, and our Za’atar, green olive and chickpea stew, this recipe was written for Yealands - a sustainable New Zealand wine producer who specialise in Sauvignon Blanc.
Yealands Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is beautifully weighty on the palate and a perfect textural match for the rich, olive oil laden pasta and the creamy basil sauce. The two dance toe to toe magically. Read more on Sauvignon Blanc here.