Real Italian Healthy Kale Pasta Salad

I love eating kale. Whether it is mixed with brown rice, curried with other vegetables or added to my potato soup, I absolutely love it and there is no denying that it is one of my favourite vegetables. I even look for ways to sneak some of the delicious vegetable into my family’s salads so they can get the benefits of eating kale too although they don’t like it as much.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse and is also known as a superfood. It is no secret that kale has offers numerous health benefits. For example, it has calcium for building bones, omega 3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation, eye-health promoting lutein to minimize risk of macular degeneration and of course zero fat and low calorie content to promote weight loss. There are many reasons for including kale in your diet and I personally think that you should eat kale at least 3 times a week either in salads or soups.

Since I enjoy eating kale a lot, I always search for recipes that include this wonder vegetable. Lately, I came across this kale pasta salad recipe which I not only enjoyed cooking but eating as well. Who doesn’t love eating italian pasta? Even kids do and this is why I chose this recipe so the little ones at home can enjoy it too. If you have kids at home, the best type of pasta you can use is farfalle which is also known as bowtie pasta. They look cute and because of their shape, they are able to retain flavors better than other types of pasta. But, you can always choose which pasta you want to use. Maybe you have your own favourite and you can change this recipe a little bit around to suit your preferences.

It barely takes 25 minutes to make this yummy kale pasta salad. It is easy to make and requires simple ingredients that you can get easily. Make it for lunch and dinner and you will surely enjoy it.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/07/kale-pasta-salad/

Serves: 12

Real Italian Healthy Kale Pasta Salad October 3, 2014 Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 pound farfelle pasta
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 bunch finely sliced kale
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 4 ounces parmesan cheese
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Add pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook according to directions. Drain water and rinse pasta with cold water. Place pasta in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Heat a small skillet over low flame and add pine nuts. Toast the nuts for about 8 minutes and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and stir around allowing the garlic to turn golden brown. Add pepper and salt and set the skillet aside for 5 minutes.
4. When the oil mixture has cooled a little bit, add it to the pasta. Toss so the mixture combines well with the pasta.
5. Using the same skillet, cook kale over medium heat for 5 minutes.
6. To the bowl of pasta, add kale and pine nuts. Toss so they are evenly mixed. Allow the mixture to cool before adding parmesan cheese. Taste to see if salt and pepper is enough. Add more if desired.
7. Place the bowl of kale pasta salad in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
8. If desired add 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Source: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/07/kale-pasta-salad/