Miso butter greens pasta
This silky kale pasta from Meera Sodha is inspired by Joshua McFadden's famous version, but is made with miso and butter rather than parmesan. There's half a kilo of greens in there, so it's the perfect dish if you have some kale languishing in your fridge that needs using up! Extracted from Dinner by Meera Sodha (Fig Tree, £27), Photography by David Loftus.
Meera says: 'Joshua McFadden’s kale sauce has been a cult sensation, coaxing cooks around the world to eat 450g of cavolo nero in one sitting. It’s impressive on many levels: the volume of green, the simplicity and the excellent flavour. I’ve made it many times, losing the Parmesan but adding some fennel seeds, chilli and miso instead. Like all the best recipes, it has taken on new life in my kitchen and, with thanks to Joshua, here’s my version. Note: You’ll need a blender and a very large pot (around 5 litres) with a lid.'
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 60g of unsalted butter, vegan or dairy
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 100g of broccoli, chopped
- 400g of cavolo nero, leaves stripped and sliced
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp of white miso
- 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 500g of orecchiette
- chilli oil, or extra virgin olive oil, to finish
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium heat. When it’s bubbling, add the garlic, fennel seeds and chilli flakes, and fry, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic smell changes from raw to cooked and a bit like garlic bread
- 60g of unsalted butter, vegan or dairy
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
Add the broccoli, cavolo nero, salt and 250ml of water, stir (this will be challenging, but believe in yourself), cover, turn down the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the greens have wilted and become tender
- 100g of broccoli, chopped
- 400g of cavolo nero, leaves stripped and sliced
- 3/4 tsp salt
Scrape all the contents of the cavolo nero pan into a blender or food processor, add the miso and olive oil, and blend to a smooth sauce, scraping down the sides as necessary; add a little water, if needed, to create a silky-smooth sauce (I add about 4 tablespoons)
- 2 1/2 tbsp of white miso
- 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Rinse out the greens pot, fill with water (do not salt it: miso is already quite salty, and you can always adjust the seasoning later) and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and, when it’s got a minute to go, gently lower a large mug into the water and scoop out a mugful of the starchy cooking water
- 500g of orecchiette
Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, add the sauce and toss with around 6 to 8 tablespoons of the cooking water to get it to a consistency you like. Taste and add salt, if need be
Spoon out onto a serving platter and drizzle over with chilli oil or extra virgin olive oil
- chilli oil, or extra virgin olive oil, to finish
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