Brothy Sundried Tomato & Kale Pasta
This rich, garlicky, umami stew is packed with sun-dried tomatoes, nutritious kale and deliciously chewy cavatelli pasta. It's comforting, it's easy to make, and it's a perfect aromatic soup to add to your winter recipe rotation.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
This brothy cavatelli with sundried tomatoes will easily win your heart over! It’s rich, but still mostly plant-based. It’s creamy, it’s easy, it’s packed with nutrition and it is also filled with perfect little parcels of al dente pasta. What’s not to love?
Plus, the addition of a whole jar of sun dried tomatoes adds an umami richness and slight tomato acidity that makes eating this soup feel like eating your favorite pasta dish. It’s wholesome, comforting, and exactly what we want on cold winter evenings.
Tomatoes in Chinese medicine nutrition are considered to be cold, sweet, and sour. They travel to the Stomach and Liver organs and are especially useful in enriching Yin and dispelling heat. When we dry the tomatoes in the sun they become warmer in nature as the warmth from the sun creates change making them a good winter tomato option!
Medicinally, sun-dried tomatoes have similar medicinal properties to tomatoes because their nutritional components stay intact during the drying process. In western nutrition, they are known to help treat the common cold and flu, high blood pressure, as well as a variety of gastric disorders. Sun-dried tomatoes have a much bolder, umami flavor than fresh tomatoes which packs this dish full of flavor!
INGREDIENTS
3 small shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 cups kale
1 (~7 ounces) jar of sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1 tsp each of dried oregano, fennel seeds, dried thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups vegetable stock
1 parmesan rind (optional, but really delicious)
8 ounces dried cavatelli pasta
splash of heavy cream to taste
2 ounces fresh parmesan for garnish
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper as needed
INSTRUCTIONS
Peel and thinly slice the shallots. Grate the garlic cloves. Finely chop the kale and set aside.
Put a stock pot or high-sided sauté pan on medium heat. Pour in the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes (but not the tomatoes, yet!) and let it come to temperature. Add in the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt.
Add in the oregano, fennel seeds, thyme and red pepper flakes and stir to coat. Add in the garlic and the sun-dried tomatoes. Stir to toast the spices and cook down the garlic, cooking another 4-5 minutes.
Pour in the vegetable stock and stir. Add in the parmesan rind, if using. Raise the heat slightly and bring the soup to a simmer.
Add in the pasta and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the kale and simmer an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and has some bite to it.
Pour in the creamy broth (or oat milk, if using) and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and remove the parmesan rind.
Add the juice from one lemon to the soup and season again to taste.
Portion into 4 bowls and top with a generous grating of parmesan and fresh cracked black pepper. Serve warm!
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 5 months
photo and recipe credits to Justine Snacks
