Spaghetti aglio e olio with kale and mushrooms

Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 0 hr 20 mins
Ingredients
  • 250g mushrooms, thickly sliced
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, and extra for drizzling
  • 6 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 1 large bunch of curly kale
  • Black pepper
  • Salt
  • 380g spaghetti
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped 
  • To serve: finely grated Parmesan

1 Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Sauté the mushrooms until they just begin to take on colour. Add the finely sliced garlic and stir for 30 seconds until the raw flavour is gone. Add the remaining olive oil and set aside.

2 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the whole kale leaves to the pot and leave to cook for two minutes till it turns a vivid green and softens. Remove the kale from the pan using tongs. Set aside in a colander.

3 Add the spaghetti to the pot of boiling salted water and simmer till al dente.

4 Meanwhile, remove the tough stems from the kale, discard them and chop the leaves into bite-size pieces.

5 Drain the spaghetti, setting aside about one cup of cooking water.

6 Over a medium heat add the spaghetti and kale to the pot of mushrooms and garlic. Mix well to combine. Add half of the reserved cooking water and mix until the pasta is coated in a thick, glossy sauce. Add more water if necessary.

7 Fold through the flat leaf parsley. Season with plenty of black pepper. Taste for seasoning. Divide into bowls and scatter a little more black pepper, Parmesan, chilli flakes and a drizzle of olive oil over the top. Serve right away.

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins

Lilly Higgins, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a food writer