Hello darlings! Today I have a lovely guest post for you by my friend Hillary from the NYC-based food blog, Hill Reeves. She’s sharing a scrumptious sounding orecchiette with kale and ground turkey recipe, which I think looks perfect for a dinner party, or a romantic dinner for two, with leftovers for lunch (tasty and practical). Enjoy!
Hello Goodie Godmother-ers! My name is Hillary and I’m the blogger behind Hill Reeves. I write about cooking and baking from my tiny kitchen in New York City as well as the foodie adventures I take around the world. As a longtime fan of Mary’s, I can’t tell you how psyched I am to guest post today. Truly, I’m not worthy. I mean, have you seen Mary’s perfect macarons? Let’s just say that the last (and only and final) time I attempted macarons, even my dogs weren’t interested.
As for things I can cook, today I have some orecchiette for you. When I used to live on the Upper West Side, there was a restaurant on the block that me and my boyfriend would visit way too often. They had Italian sandwiches that hit the spot like nothing else along with spumoni ice cream cake (praise hands). But my favorite dish was a classic handmade orecchiette with broccoli rabe and crumbled Italian pork sausage.
Orecchiette has occupied a special place in my heart ever since, plus I love the scene in Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones and Butter about making the ear-shaped pasta by hand in Italy. If you haven’t read this chef’s memoir, hop to it – you’ll start making handmade pasta weekly and find yourself spouting lines like “Americans are far too obsessed with refrigeration.” You’ll sound European and smart, promise.
Anyway, I have a guide to making the pasta over on Hill Reeves that only requires three ingredients… and your entire Sunday. If you have podcasts lined up, though, or a great VH1 Divas playlist handy, the time flies. Once you have the pasta made, this recipe takes minutes to whip up. I make it in big batches and bring it for my lunch at work since, let’s face it, Mason jar salads really do not cut it. I’m a growing girl.
Hope you enjoy and thanks again, Mary, for having me visit. And for the gift of your eggnog macarons to the world. Bless.
Orecchiette with Kale and Ground Turkey
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 1 bunch kale, any variety
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 1 lb ground turkey
- salt, pepper
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lb orecchiette
- 1 cup ⁄2 reserved pasta water
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 cup ⁄4 grated parmesan
Instructions
- Bring about 6 cups of water to boil in a large stock pot.
- Meanwhile, remove ribs from kale and chop leaves coarsely. Rinse and dry kale.
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. When hot, add in turkey. Season well with salt and pepper and cook to brown, breaking up pieces with a wooden
- spoon as it cooks. Once all turkey is browned, remove from pan with slotted spoon and
- set aside. Then, add in onion and cook until translucent.
- Add pasta to boiling water along with a few big pinches of salt. Let cook for about 7 minutes, then promptly pour pasta and water into a colander, reserving about 1⁄2 cup
- water. Set pasta aside.
- Add kale to onion along with a few pinches of salt and red pepper flakes. As kale heats up, also add in a splash or two of the pasta water to help kale wilt. Once kale is tender (about 5 minutes), add back in turkey and pasta to kale mixture. Stir to combine. Cover for a minute or two to allow mixture to cook down a bit together.
- Remove lid, turn off heat, and season with plenty of freshly ground pepper. Transfer to serving bowls and top with grated parmesan as desired.
