Kale Caesar-ish pasta

With crunchy chilli and chickpea pangrattato

Thanks for reading! A ‘heart’ at the end goes a long way in helping others find my work.

We eat pasta at least twice a week, so I’m always glad to find a new one to add to the rotation, which can become stale quite quickly in this carb-loving household.

This recipe is somewhere between a pasta salad and a pasta sauce. Taking its flavour cues loosely from Caesar salad, it features lemon and a creamy Parmesan dressing, spiked with miso for an umami punch in place of anchovies (although you could definitely blend up a tin of anchovies here instead, if you prefer).

The pasta and sauce are simply tossed with raw kale and sweet cherry tomatoes, then crowned with a golden, chilli-flecked chickpea and breadcrumb topping. For a dish that name-checks so many worthy ingredients, it tastes surprisingly luxurious, and is very easy to make.

I served it warm for dinner, but this would work equally well served as a pasta salad for a picnic, and many of the elements can be made ahead. If you’d rather eat it this way, cool the pasta before combining with the other ingredients (cook until al dente, drain, then spread out on a kitchen towel-lined baking tray to cool).

If you’re also a member of the fussy kids crew, you could adapt this by serving little eaters some of the pasta tossed with the creamy miso and Parmesan dressing, plus a few cherry tomatoes and/or chickpeas on the side (mine seems to do better with deconstructed dinners). Adapt the level of chilli in the crispy chickpea topping to their tastes, too.

Kale Caesar-ish pasta with crispy chickpea pangrattato and cherry tomatoes

Serves 4
400g jarred chickpeas, drained and patted dry
60g panko breadcrumbs
½ - 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (to taste)
Zest of 1 lemon
400g rigatoni
75g curly kale, leaves stripped, roughly chopped
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
150g full-fat creme fraiche
2 tsp white miso
50g Parmesan (or veggie alternative), finely grated, plus extra to serve

Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the chickpeas with a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until starting to go golden, then stir in the breadcrumbs, chilli flakes and lemon zest. Add another splash of oil and continue to cook, stirring now and again, until the breadcrumbs are golden and crisp (the chickpeas might crackle and pop a bit in the pan, that’s ok!).

Remove the crunchy chickpeas from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring a large pan of salted boiling water to the boil and cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes or according to the pack instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, add the kale to a large bowl with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Massage with your hands to tenderise, then stir in the tomatoes.

Add the creme fraiche and miso to another small bowl with the Parmesan. Spoon off 2 tbsp of the pasta cooking water and stir to create a sauce. Taste and add more miso if needed.

Drain the pasta and return to the cooking pan. Off the heat, combine with the creamy sauce, then stir in the kale and tomatoes. Serve with the crunchy chickpea topping and extra Parmesan, if you like.

This week I’m loving…

• Why has it taken me so long to discover Lickalix ice lollies? A heatwave non-negotiable for everyone, made with organic fruit and no refined sugar. The strawberry lemonade flavour is my fave.

• Made in Glasgow and sadly (for me) available at Gail’s at a bank-balance-destroying price, Rapscallion Soda is another current hot-weather hyperfixation – the lemon and cracked black pepper in particular.

• London-based friends – the food at Café Jikoni at the new V&A East Museum in Stratford was always going to be great, given founder Ravinda Bhogal’s stellar reputation. But I was especially impressed with the great kids’ menu and service when we visited. Well worth a visit if you need an air-conditioned space to escape the temperatures coming this week (sob).