Pasta with Braised Greens
This cheesy pasta dish is a weeknight dinner crowd-pleaser.
Serves4
Prep5 minutes
Cook40 minutes
Here’s how to eat two pounds of dark leafy greens without even realizing it. When they cook and cook over a low temperature with plenty of big-flavor ingredients, they slouch, sweeten, and take on a richness that will help you forget all about those jaw workouts required for kale salads.
The greens are braised with onion, hot smoked paprika, tomato paste, and sun-dried tomatoes for an umami-filled, smoky mix that’s slightly reminiscent of bacon. After the greens are tossed with the pasta, the dish is brightened with a little lemon juice and — because sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese have been buddies since the ‘80s — gets creamy with pockets of goat cheese.
Pasta with Braised Greens Recipe
This cheesy pasta dish is a weeknight dinner crowd-pleaser.
Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 40 minutes
Serves 4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1
large yellow onion
- 1/4 cup
olive oil
- 2 pounds
hearty dark, leafy greens (about 2 large bunches), such as kale, mustard, mature spinach, Swiss chard, or collard greens
- 1/2 cup
oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (about 3 ounces), plus 2 tablespoons of the oil
- 3/4 teaspoon
kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons
tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated from a tube
- 2 teaspoons
hot smoked paprika
- 1 pound
dried fettuccine or other long, thin pasta
- 1/2
medium lemon
- 4 ounces
fresh goat or feta cheese
Instructions
Thinly slice 1 large yellow onion (about 2 cups). Strip the leaves from the stems of 2 pounds hearty dark greens (about 2 large bunches). Coarsely chop the greens. Coarsely chop 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, season with 1/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, 3 tablespoons tomato paste, and 2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the greens in batches, stirring between each batch until starting to wilt. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not mushy, 20 to 25 minutes. Taste every so often; if it tastes flat, add a pinch of salt. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
When the greens are almost ready, add 1 pound dried long, thin pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. (If the greens are done before the pasta, keep cooking them; a few minutes won’t affect them all that much.)
Add the pasta, 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and 2 tablespoons sun dried-tomato oil to the greens. Toss until the pasta is glossy and the greens are evenly distributed, adding more pasta water a tablespoon at a time as needed until saucy.
Squeeze the juice from 1/2 medium lemon (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) over the pasta and toss to combine. Crumble 4 ounces goat or feta cheese (scant 1 cup) into the pasta. Toss just a few times to warm but not completely melt the cheese. Taste and season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed.
Recipe Notes
Substitutions: 6 thinly sliced garlic cloves can be used instead of onion; cook just until starting to turn light golden-brown.
Make ahead: The greens can be cooked up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Reheat before adding in the pasta.
Vegan: To make it vegan, omit the cheese and add a dribble of non-dairy milk.
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.