Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Sweet Potatoes

This recipe originally included parsnips. Our CSA guesstimate for this week thought we might get parsnips, but they weren’t there. I had this on the menu, and as often happens with a CSA, I had to rethink because we didn’t get a guesstimated vegetable. That’s part of the fun. I originally thought I would substitute in carrots, but after consulting “The Flavor Bible” I discovered carrots were not on the list of what goes well with kale, but sweet potatoes were. I had a whole bunch of sweet potatoes that were about the size of my finger, they worked perfectly as I cut them up to mimic the size of the penne pasta. Oh, and…it was yummy, I’m looking forward to the leftovers at lunch today.

Thursday Menu – Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Sweet Potatoes, Salad
Farm Share Produce – Kale, Onions, Garlic, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes

Pasta with Kale, Caramelized Onions, and Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002012801

2 T olive oil, dived
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut diagonally about the size of penne pasta
2 t butter
1 medium onion, sliced
1 T fresh thyme, or 3-4 sprigs
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
8 oz. penne pasta
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Heat 1 T of olive in oil and 2-3 T of water in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook 10-12 minutes. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve ¾ cup of cooking liquid.

In skillet heat the remaining 1 T of oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and caramelize. Stirring occasionally, until golden brown and starting to crisp. Stir in thyme and garlic, cook 2 minutes. Add broth and kale, cook 5 minutes covered. Then 4 minutes uncovered, or until kale is very tender. Stir occasionally.

Add pasta and reserved sweet potatoes to the kale mixture. Remove thyme sprig, if used. Stir in ¼ cup of parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in reserved pasta water until satisfied with the consistency. Make sure the dish is heated through and serve with the remaining cheese.