Colm O'Gorman: Another taste of Rome with my recipe for pasta with cavalo nero pesto

"I love a good pesto, but I had never had one made with cavalo nero instead of basil, so this was new to me. It was phenomenal."

I have another recipe for you this week that was inspired by a recent work trip to Rome. My colleagues and I were staying together in self-catering accommodation, and I was asked to plan a meal that we could cook together on one of the evenings we were there. Cooking for a crowd is easy if you choose the right menu, and as we were in Italy, it had to be pasta. I decided that we would make a couple of my favourite pasta dishes; Pasta alla Norma and my linguine with nduja, fennel and lemon. Both of those delicious recipes have previously featured in this column and are available on ieFood.

Our kitchen cupboards had been well stocked before we arrived, and as well as all the ingredients for my chosen pasta dishes, there were a few jars of locally made cavalo nero pesto. I love a good pesto, but I had never had one made with cavalo nero instead of basil, so this was new to me. It was phenomenal. In fact, it was so good, we ate it with a spoon straight from the jar. We also used it as a sauce for some pasta. We simply tossed some cooked linguine in a few tablespoons of the pesto and served it with a little grated parmesan. So simple, but utterly delicious.

So, once I got home, I had to come up with a recipe to make my own cavalo nero pesto, and this is the result. Most pesto recipes use pine nuts, but I decided to use a combination of walnuts and almonds instead as the sweeter almonds balance the slight bitterness of the cavalo nero beautifully. I also used a combination of pecorino and parmesan cheeses, but if you prefer, you can use either just pecorino or parmesan.

Cavalo nero is an Italian variety of kale, also known as black kale. It is grown here in Ireland and available from some larger supermarkets. Dunnes Stores stock it in some of their larger shops, and you can also find it in most good greengrocers. If you cannot get hold of any, you could use regular of curly kale instead, but as this is a bit tougher than cavolo nero, you should blanch it for about two minutes in some boiling water, then drain it into a colander and immediately rinse it under cold running water to stop it from overcooking. Let it drain well and pat it dry before making your pesto.

Making the pesto is very simple and takes just minutes. Once you have it made, it will keep in the fridge for as few days, or you can freeze it, that is if it lasts long enough to have any to freeze. As well as being delicious with pasta, this pesto is lovely on top of a caprese salad of buffalo mozzarella and some sliced tomatoes, or on a bruschetta of toasted sourdough generously spread with pesto and finished with seasoned freshly chopped tomatoes.

You can have this pesto as a sauce with any cooked pasta. Linguine works well, but I love it with a pasta such as radiatori or fusilli as the pesto gets into the ridges of the pasta which gives you more flavour in each bite. Serve the pasta with a simple salad of fresh mixed leaves, quartered sweet cherry tomatoes dressed with a little olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of flaky sea salt.

Pasta with Pesto Cavalo Nero

This recipe makes about 500g of pesto, which is more than you need for pasta for four people. I suggest you make the full 500g though, as I think you will find any leftovers will not last long.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 500g dried radiatori or fusilli pasta

• 300g fresh cavalo nero

• 125ml extra virgin olive oil

• 30g walnuts

• 50g almonds

• 1 small clove garlic

• 85g pecorino cheese

• 40g parmesan cheese

• 125ml extra virgin olive oil

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• A good grind of fresh black pepper

• A splash of lemon juice

Method

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook until it is just done, but still has a little bite. Ten minutes should do it but do check the instructions on the packet of pasta as depending upon the type, cooking times can vary.

2. Wash the cavalo nero and pat it dry it with a clean tea towel or some kitchen paper. Use a sharp knife to remove the thicker centre spines from each of the leaves and roughly chop. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Grate the pecorino and the parmesan.

3. Put the nuts into a food processor and blitz to a smooth crumb. Add the olive oil, garlic and the cavalo nero and pulse until you get a smooth pesto. Stir in the grated cheese, add the salt, a good grind of black pepper and a splash of lemon juice. Taste and add more cheese or lemon juice if needed.

4. Drain the pasta when it is done and pop it back in the pan. Add about eight to ten generous tablespoons of pesto and stir that in to thoroughly coat all the pasta.

5. Serve immediately on warm plates or pasta bowls with more parmesan cheese on top.

• A home cook with a passion for taking flavours from around the world and creating delicious recipes that can be easily cooked at home, you can find more of Colm O'Gorman’s recipes on Instagram @colmogorman, and irishexaminer.com/iefood/.