Cavolo nero orecchiette
Prep
10 mins
Cook
20 mins
Servings
2
Difficulty
Medium
This is one of those beautiful weeknight dinners that comes together in about half an hour and tastes far more impressive than the effort required. Cavolo nero is packed with iron and calcium, making it wonderfully nourishing, and paired with chewy orecchiette it becomes something genuinely special. What I love most is how simple it is, just a handful of pantry staples like garlic, chilli, and lemon that transform humble greens into something vibrant and satisfying. The creamy ricotta dollop at the end feels like a little luxury, while the toasted almonds add a lovely crunch. It's comfort food that happens to be good for you, and honestly, that's my favourite kind of cooking.
Ella x
Ingredients
- 150 gorecchiette
- 200 gcavolo nero separated into stems and leaves
- 1 tbspolive oil
- 13 garlic cloves crushed
- 11 red chilli(deseeded if you like), finely chopped)
- 11 banana shallot finely chopped
- 11 lemon zested and juiced
- 75 gricotta
- 15 galmonds roughly chopped and toasted
Detail level
Instructions
- 1
Cook the orecchiette following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of the water. Finely chop the cavolo nero stems and leaves, keeping them separate. Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan and cook the stems, garlic, chilli and shallot over a low heat for 5 mins until softened, then stir in the cavolo nero leaves. Fry until just wilted, then tip in the pasta and toss to combine.
- 2
Stir in the lemon zest and juice, and the ricotta along with a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen, and season. Sprinkle the almonds over the top to serve.
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