Vegan Kale-Pesto Pasta

Kale, basil and cashews boil together, then blend into a light, creamy green sauce with no soaking required. Two bunches of market kale make enough for a pound of pasta, stems and all.

Serves 4 · 35 minutes

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound kale (about 2 bunches), leaves stripped and coarsely chopped, ribs and stems thinly sliced
• 1 cup raw cashews
• ½ cup basil leaves, stems saved
• 1 pound long or ridged pasta, such as linguine or rigatoni
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale ribs and stems, the cashews and the basil stems and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Add the kale leaves and cook until tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes more. Push the basil leaves under the water, then turn off the heat.
3. Use a slotted spoon to move everything into a blender, leaving the water in the pot for the pasta. Let it cool slightly.
4. Bring the water back to a boil, topping it up if a lot has evaporated, and cook the pasta until tender.
5. Add ½ cup water, the garlic and the red pepper flakes to the blender and blend on high until very smooth. Season with salt.
6. Save 1 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the sauce and stir hard, splashing in pasta water as needed so it clings to the noodles. Stir in the lemon juice, season with salt and more pepper flakes, and serve right away.

Tips

• The recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce, which keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• The sauce thickens as it cools, so loosen it with a little pasta water if needed.

Adapted from NYT Cooking.