This recipe is so simple, straightforward and delicious that you'll wonder where it's been hidden until now: the trick is simply to treat the cabbage properly. First you need to soften it by boiling it in water for about 15 minutes. Then, and this is a basic step, sauté it with a little garlic and chili so that these vegetables lose their overcooked taste.
The final step – passing it through the blender – is not essential, but the final texture of this cream, topped off with the grated cheese, is worth trying. I recommend grinding everything: cabbage, garlic and chili, so the variety of flavors becomes more complex and interesting. At the end, greasing the grated cheese creates a creamy sauce that perfectly coats the pasta.
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: You must have a blender (and plug it in)
Ingredients
For 4 people
- 500g cabbage, kale or collard greens
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 chili (or to taste)
- 400 g short pasta (penne, fusilli, mezze maniche…)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
- Salt
- Black pepper
instructions
1.
Bring a pot of plenty of lightly salted water to the boil. Clean the cabbage, cut it finely and cook it in boiling water for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, peel the garlic cloves, grate the cheese and weigh the pasta.
2.
Heat three to four tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the peeled and whole garlic and the chilli.
3.
Remove the cooked cabbage from the pot without discarding the water and add it directly to the pan containing the garlic and chili. Fry the cabbage for five minutes, adding a ladleful of cooking water.
4.
Bring the pot of cabbage cooking water back to a boil, adjust the salt, and bring the pasta to a boil.
5.
Pass the cabbage – with garlic and chilli if desired – through a blender or food mill, adding more water if necessary (you should get a fairly thick puree).
6.
Add the shredded cabbage back to the pan and, when the pasta is very al dente, drain and add to the cabbage.
7.
Mix, add the grated cheese and cook for another minute so that all the ingredients are well mixed. Serve with some black pepper sprinkled on top.
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