By Jodee Weiland

Being Italian, it was hard for me to imagine kale in a pesto when I first used it in my Baby Kale Pesto.  Before that I used it to make kale chips, a kale salad, a kale and bean soup, and since then I have used it in my pesto and more. I‘ve used it in omelets, smoothies, and even made it with olive oil and garlic as a side dish. Prior to that time, putting kale in a pesto to use with pasta was something I just couldn’t imagine, especially since I love Italian Basil Pesto. Nevertheless, with all the kale I have coming from my garden this year, I decided I had to do something more with it all, and my Healthy and Delicious Kale Basil Pesto with Pasta is what I came up with for dinner tonight.

I was pleasantly surprised when this dinner turned out to be even tastier than my earlier version of kale pesto. I think the reason for that is because it combines two pesto recipes, kale pesto and my all-time favorite, Italian Basil Pesto. Not only do I get the rich taste of basil, which I love, but I also get the great flavor of kale and all the healthy nutrients from the kale. If you ask me, this gives me the best of both worlds, and I’m all for that! So here’s my Healthy and Delicious Kale Basil Pesto with Pasta recipe and how I did it!

Healthy and Delicious Kale Basil Pesto with Pasta

2 cups fresh kale leaves packed tightly, torn into pieces and de-stemmed
2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 and 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic clove or to taste
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
1 and 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (more or less, depending on desired consistency and thickness)
1 and 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese or more
Pasta of your choice
More Parmesan Reggiano cheese to serve with meal

Blend together the kale, basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and black pepper until finely chopped in a food processer or blender. Gradually add oil to this mixture to attain a smooth consistency and thickness (your preference). Finally, add the Parmesan cheese into this mixture. You can add more salt and black pepper to taste once it is blended. Kale basil pesto can be made two days ahead or just before it is needed. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate it. With this pesto recipe, you will have enough for more than one meal, so freeze some for later. I usually have enough for three meals, so I use one portion and freeze two for later. Boil pasta per instructions and when done, blend in the pesto with your pasta.

My Healthy and Delicious Kale Basil Pesto with Pasta is awesome and will soon become a favorite for you as well. Serve with a glass of Chianti, a crusty loaf of bread, and a side salad. Have some Parmesan Reggiano cheese ready to grate fresh over your pasta. Some people may even enjoy some crushed red pepper on their pasta, so have some ready just in case. In Italian households, this is how we serve pasta, along with great conversations and much love. That’s why it’s called comfort food, so enjoy!

By Jodee Weiland

For some time now, I have wanted to try zucchini spaghetti. It sounded so healthy, I couldn’t help but be curious about how it would taste. So I sat down and researched the various tools to do this with and came across a wide variety of veggie spiralizers. There are all kinds from hand held to some that are larger, but are easier to use. I found out you can make zucchini spaghetti a number of ways. I chose to make my Zucchini Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Fresh Tomatoes with a veggie spiralizer I found at a local store by searching online.

What I found out during my search was that you can prepare the zucchini with a julienne peeler, a mandoline with a julienne blade, or with a veggie spiralizer type product. I chose the veggie spiralizer type product for a number of reasons after reading reviews and checking prices. The one I chose was at a store that gives 20% discounts with their coupons, so the price was under $25 with tax. The product I chose was made basically the same as a more expensive version at another store and both had similar reviews. Last of all, after looking into it, this product made preparing the zucchini so easy, it cut the time of preparation down tremendously.

All the products can be used to prepare a number of vegetables, but the one I chose did more. To me, saving money, time, and being able to use a product for more than one thing is worth it. So that’s how I came to prepare my zucchini spaghetti with a traditional Aglio E Olio (garlic and oil) sauce and adding fresh diced tomatoes for additional flavor. My Zucchini Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Fresh Tomatoes was made with a veggie spiralizer, and I loved it!

Zucchini Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Fresh Tomatoes

2 medium zucchini cleaned and skin removed (skin may be left on if preferred)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (add more for more heat, if desired)
2 fresh Roma tomatoes diced
Sea salt
Grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese to taste

Prepare the zucchini first by peeling it and cutting it into long thin spaghetti like strands with a veggie spiralizer, a julienne peeler, or a mandoline with a julienne blade. Lightly salt the zucchini strands and put them into a colander for about thirty minutes, placing the collander in a large bowl, so the moisture in the zucchini can drain off. Toss and squeeze lightly every once in a while until ready.

When ready, heat the olive oil in a large pan. When the oil is heated, add the garlic. Be sure to use a splatter cover because heated oil will splatter whenever anything moist is added to it. After you add the garlic to the oil, sauté it over a low heat for a few minutes until tender. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the fresh parsley and crushed red pepper, and then sauté another minute or two. Next, put the prepared zucchini spaghetti in the pan (again use the splatter cover for your pan).

When it stops sizzling and has cooked slightly, turn off the stove and toss the zucchini gently in the olive oil and garlic mixture. You want the zucchini al dente, so only heat it for a few minutes, or it will become too soft. Transfer it all to a serving dish so it does not continue to heat. Last, add the fresh diced Roma tomatoes. Serve with grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese to taste. NOTE: Another alternative is to leave the zucchini spaghetti raw and put the heated olive oil and garlic mixture over it and toss lightly. It is a matter of personal preference. You choose which way you prefer to do this.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Fresh Tomatoes is so delicious and healthy, you will wonder why you didn’t try it sooner. It has a great flavor that will leave you wanting more. I enjoyed it so much that now I’m wondering why I didn’t try it sooner myself. I have to think being Italian and raised on wonderful pasta meals had something to do with it, but we had great zucchini dishes as well, so I’m not so sure about that. In fact, zucchini in olive oil and garlic has been served often in my home and tastes great. If you decide to give this recipe a try, I know you’ll love it, so enjoy!

By Jodee Weiland

Italian basil pesto is a favorite of mine, but homemade fettuccine with Italian basil pesto is so delicious that it far surpasses all my other pasta dishes in flavor for me. I love homemade pastas and when we travel, we often search out Italian restaurants that serve homemade pastas. There’s something about homemade pastas that makes any Italian dish one hundred percent better. Think about it for a minute. In earlier times, people did not go to the store to purchase their pasta, but instead, they made it from scratch. Now who doesn’t know that homemade is always better than store-bought?

When I was little, I would watch my mother make all kinds of homemade pastas. She never had a pasta machine to make her pasta and did it all by hand completely. In another blog, I will show you how she made her homemade cavatelli, which was truly work intensive, but for now I chose to make homemade fettuccine with a simple non-egg pasta recipe. I prefer non-egg over recipes with egg because I think they are not as heavy. You can do it either way, but non-egg pasta is my personal preference. I chose to serve it with my own Italian Basil Pesto recipe, which I love, but you can serve it with any sauce you choose.

Homemade Fettuccine with Italian Basil Pesto

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For sauce:

Italian Basil Pesto (see my recipe or choose another sauce)

The best way to mix the dough for your pasta is to put your flour in a mountain shape on a flat surface or in a large bowl. Create an opening at the top like a volcano. In the opening, put the warm water and olive oil. Start by whisking the oil and water together and then gradually, start to blend in the flour from the sides with a fork. Continue to do this until completely blended and too sticky to mix further with the fork. Then fold the dough together with your hands until blended together into a smooth dough. If needed, add a little more warm water, just a little at a time. Once done, set the dough aside for about fifteen minutes to relax.

When ready, cut off a piece at a time, covering the rest with a damp towel. Following the directions on your pasta maker, make your fettuccine or spaghetti, whichever you prefer. Different pasta machines will vary somewhat in their directions, so be sure to read the directions carefully for your machine. This will make about one pound of pasta.

You can also make fettuccine by rolling out the dough to the desired thickness, dusting it with flour, and then folding it over one or two times before slicing. Once folded, slice the dough with a sharp knife into straight lines to make fettuccine noodles. Whether with a machine or by hand, hang your pasta from a pasta drying rack until ready to cook and serve. When ready to cook, put the pasta in boiling water just as you would with any pasta, but note that fresh pasta cooks much faster and may take as little as three minutes to cook. It also usually rises to the top of the water as it cooks. Test a noodle to see if done al dente. When ready, drain the water and serve your pasta with your choice of sauce.

Homemade Fettuccine with Italian Basil Pesto is absolutely delicious and will change how you look at pasta forever. We love it, and served with a nice Chianti, a fresh loaf of crusty bread, and a small side salad, you will feel like royalty. Homemade pasta makes store-bought pasta seem so ordinary, no matter which sauce you choose. You can have it with Italian Basil Pesto, Bolognese, marinara, or any other sauce you may prefer. It makes no difference which sauce you choose because the fresh pasta is what you will remember. Give it a try, and you will see exactly what I mean, so enjoy!