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Meera Sodha’s Miso Butter Greens Pasta

Joshua McFadden’s kale sauce has been a cult sensation, coaxing cooks around the world to eat 450g of cavolo nero in one sitting. It’s impressive on many levels: the volume of green, the simplicity and the excellent flavour. I’ve made it many times, losing the Parmesan but adding some fennel seeds, chilli and miso instead. Like all the best recipes, it has taken on new life in my kitchen and, with thanks to Joshua, here’s my version. 

10 minutes prep, 20 minutes cook

Serves 4

Ingredients

60g unsalted butter

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

100g broccoli, chopped

400g cavolo nero, leaves stripped and sliced

3/4tsp salt

2 1/2 tbsp white miso paste

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

500g orecchiette pasta

Chilli oil or extra virgin olive oil to finish

Method

1 Melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium heat. When it’s bubbling, add the garlic, fennel seeds and chilli flakes, and fry, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic smell changes from raw to cooked and a bit like garlic bread.

2 Add the broccoli, cavolo nero, salt and 250ml of water, stir (this will be challenging, but believe in yourself), cover, turn down the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the greens have wilted and become tender.

3 Scrape all the contents of the cavolo nero pan into a blender or food processor, add the miso and olive oil, and blend to a smooth sauce, scraping down the sides as necessary; add a little water, if needed, to create a silky-smooth sauce (I add about 4 tablespoons).

4 Rinse out the greens pot, fill with water (do not salt it: miso is already quite salty, and you can always adjust the seasoning later) and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and, when it’s got a minute to go, gently lower a large mug into the water and scoop out a mugful of the starchy cooking water.

5 Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, add the sauce and toss with around 6 to 8 tablespoons of the cooking water to get it to a consistency you like. Taste and add salt, if need be.

6 Spoon out on to a serving platter and drizzle over with chilli oil or extra virgin olive oil.

From DINNER by Meera Sodha. Image: David Loftus