Crispy Kale Pasta with Avocado and Shrimp

Crispy Kale Pasta with Avocado and Shrimp

March 21, 2018

Servings: 3-4

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 40 min

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If you like to mix and match textures, this is the perfect pasta dish for you! Our creamy avocado sauce is a delicious compliment to the crispy kale and succulent cherry tomatoes. There are so many delicious bursts of flavor in each bite!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 3 large bunches kale about 1½ pounds
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 ripe avocado (+ additional ingredients for sauce, see link in the instructions)
• Kosher salt and pepper for seasoning
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound large shrimp
• 12 ounces spaghetti, bucatini (what we used!), or linguine
• Parmesan, red pepper flakes for serving

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare your avocado sauce.
• Step 2 Drizzle the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in one layer on a baking pan/sheet and bake until the tomatoes wilt, about 20 minutes.
• Step 3 Tear the kale leaves into small pieces and drizzle them with a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on another baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until crispy. They burn easily so make sure you check on them!
• Step 4 Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Step 5 Using the same pot, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the shrimp and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the shrimp start to turn pink and curl, about 2-3 minutes.
• Step 6 Add the pasta back to the pot, toss with the shrimp. Stir in the avocado sauce, I used about half of the prepared sauce.
• Step 7 Remove from the heat and toss in the tomatoes and crispy kale. Reserve some of the kale chips as a crunchy topping. Top each plate with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and more crispy kale.

This is the perfect example of a recipe I dreamed up around one ingredient – crispy kale! I don’t know where I got inspired to make it the star of a pasta dish, but I ran with it. Luckily, this dish turned out so well, I didn’t even need to look back!  I was in such a funk last night (a case of the Mondays) I didn’t even want to cook, so tonight I felt like I owed it to myself (and to you of course!) to come back with a bang! Mission accomplished.

This dish was really a play on textures, as I decided to pair the crispy kale with soft & squishy cherry tomatoes, a dreamy creamy avocado sauce and fresh succulent shrimp. Where did I get the inspiration? Why, let me enlighten you… 😉

When it comes to healthy food pairings, kale and avocado are the dream team. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, making pairs like sweet potatoes with olive oil and avocado, married with kale (vitamin K), perfect for nutrient absorption. You can read more about that here. So it didn’t take me long to decide this pasta would be dressed in one of my favorite sauces from the blog.

The roasted cherry tomatoes were delightfully sweet contrast to the saltiness of the kale and creaminess of the avocado, and just made the whole dish pop.

Last but not least, shrimp and avocado is another pairing I love – especially in the height of summer. But the blending of all of these incredible textures and flavors truly makes this a dish that can transcend the seasons. We enjoyed it on a pre-blizzard wintry night (yes, blizzarding in March – ugh) but it could easily be transformed into a light summer pasta or a rustic fall dish. Chef’s choice!