I am a traditional Southern woman. I cook my greens in pork fat and serve them with sweet tea. However, if my father-in-law(from California) asks , I did not deep-fry anything today. He likes to tease me. I felt like cooking this afternoon, so I made my dinner early. I am very lucky that I have that luxury; my husband works from home. Jude enjoyed the penne and bacon very much and ate kale and mushrooms only accidentally. He doesn’t know what to think about the texture of greens yet, but he will learn to like them one day.
PESTO PENNE WITH KALE, BACON, AND MUSHROOMS
6-8 slices of gluten-free bacon
1 bunch of kale, thick stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
3 Tablespoons of basil pesto (you don’t want too much-just want to coat penne noodles)
12 oz. Tinkyada brown rice penne noodles (1 bag if using Organic Tinkyada Penne), cooked and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth
Directions:
Cook the bacon. When the bacon is done cooking, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Reserve the bacon drippings in the pan (if there is more than a couple tablespoons, you may want to drain some of the fat) and wilt the kale for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and chicken broth. Cook the kale and mushrooms for about 10 minutes or until both are tender. Add 3 Tablespoons of basil pesto to the cooked Tinkyada noodles- you just want to lightly coat the noodles for a little flavor. With a slotted spoon, add the mushroom and kale mixture to the penne. Crumble bacon and toss it with penne. Note: I did not add any of the cooking water, but you may wish to add a little.
Serves 4
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Posted on September 25th, 2007 by Natalie
Filed under: Pasta Recipes
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[...] Tuesday: Pesto Penne with Kale, Bacon and Mushrooms [...]
love the picture!!
sounds delicious natalie! I may have to try that next week in my meal plan!! i have leftover penne! That is a wonderful picture!! i need to go goodwilling to find some neat plates to take pics on!!
ps…. natalie I love that you are a southern woman and proud to admit it!! greens cooked in pork fat is the best!!! I don’t cook them very often, so when I do, I truly enjoy them!!
Caroline- Thanks!
Carrie- I have sort of a plate fetish, which started even before the blog. My mother in law buys me a ton of plates-the blog has inspired her to buy me even more-yay! She loves buying random plates she wouldn’t buy if I didn’t have a blog. lol
This looks really delicious and I love the original ingredients (what a clever way to sneak in something like kale!) I also owe you a thank you for helping me discover Tinkyada noodles/pasta - they have made a world of difference around here!
I’m going to have to try that too. Although maybe with something like spinach instead of kale. My husband might protest too much!
I need cool looking plates too. All mine are white. My friends and I sometimes go to pottery-painting, so I think I might start in on some fun plates.
Yummy! And you seriously have the best dishes- ever! I like looking at them just as much as the food,
Childlife- oh, thanks! The kale is really good cooked this way.
Karen- Pottery painting does sound fun! My white plates are some of my favorite though!
Karen- Thanks!
This looks great. My children will not go anywhere NEAR mushrooms though, it makes me laugh how much they want to avoid them. I always put them on the side.
It’s great that Jude will eat them! Even accidentally.
Bacon fat rocks. I love the vinaigrette dressing with it..so good…it’s my favorite come wintertime.
I cant wait to try this(non gluten version) Thanks Nat. You really are an amazing chef!
Made it and loved it. Thanks so much!!
[...] Thursday: Pesto Penne with Mushrooms, Bacon, and Kale [...]