Orecchiette Onion Pasta with Kale and Garlic Sauce

Hi Everyone! I hope you are having a great week. Last night I went to a yoga studio that I had never been before called Shine on Yoga . I had one of the best yoga classes in a long time. They have a great special right now.... $20 for unlimited yoga for 2 weeks for new students, so I am definitely going to take advantage of that. I love yoga, and trying out new classes and instructors.... you learn something new every time and it's a great way to calm your mind. I really think that if everyone did yoga... then we would have world peace.

Anyways... On the way home, I knew I wanted to make something simple and delicious, and had a great idea for a garlic sauce. I also remembered that I had orecchiette pasta in my pantry and knew that I was going to put these two together. Below is my garlic masterpiece:

Ingredients to Roast:
2 Leeks
1 bunch green onions
about 15 shallot cloves

Ingredients to Boil:
3 leaves of kale
Orecchiette Pasta

Sauce:
3 tbls lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt
red pepper flakes
about 10-15 garlic cloves

Start by preheating the oven to 375

Peel the shallots, and cut the big ones in half, but leave the small ones whole. Slice the leeks in half, then slice each half width-wise. Peel and cut the green onions into about 1 inch pieces. My goal was to make the veggies chunky. Also, peel the garlic cloves... using big and small cloves...whatever you have. Place everything, except the garlic, in a bowl and pour some olive oil and a pinch of salt on the onions and mix to coat. Place on the baking sheet, and use a spatula or spoon to flatten out so it is a single layer. Add the garlic to the oily bowl and coat them as well. Place that on the baking sheet in a separate corner. When the oven is preheated, put the veggies in there for about 20-30 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and flip if needed with a spatula. Any garlic or pieces that are too dark...remove and you will add this to the dish later because you do not want to burn anything. When I did this... I only had to remove a small piece of garlic so it would not burn. keep checking and take out when everything is cooked through and slightly brown. The garlic should be browned and soft so you can mash it.

While the veggies are cooking... start the water for the pasta. I added a small amount of olive oil and salt to the water just for taste. While you are waiting for it to boil, prepare the kale. I used 3 leaves.. devained... and I actually just ripped them into pieces rather than cutting it. Maybe I was lazy, but it worked fine for me! Set the kale aside.

When the water boils... cook the orecchiette according to package. I used a box, and I used a little over 2/3 of the box. The only reason for this is because I thought I would save a little extra for some soup. But, you can make as much as you want... you might just have to adjust the sauce ingredients... which is no problem! The box I used said to cook for 11-13 minutes. I cooked the full 13 minutes. When the orecchiette has about 40 more seconds to cook... add the kale to the pot. Just let it cook down in the water... this takes about 30-60 seconds. Just continue to mix and push down....it will cook down quick and fit into the pot. When it is cooked down... no more than a minute.... drain the pasta and kale.

When the onions and garlic are finished... Pour the pasta, kale, and onions into a big enough bowl. Now, you can start to make the sauce. Get a bowl and mash the garlic. Pour in the olive oil and lemon juice. Mix everything together well. You can probably use a food processor, but I just mashed and mixed. It won't be totally smooth because you will have chunks of the garlic skin and won't mash totally... but that's why it's so good! Pour that over the pasta and onions. Add some salt, red pepper flakes, and then mix together. You might have to taste and add more lemon juice or salt to adjust to your liking. It's better to start small and add to it. When you have adusted the taste to your liking... serve in a bowl... and enjoy!


This was the perfect dish for a late night meal after a yoga class. The sauce is not too involved, but has just enough flavor. It was totally simple, but did take some time since there was chopping and roasting involved... but it is totally worth it. Just pour a glass of wine and play sodoku while you are cooking... that's what I did. I hope you enjoy!