Multi-Grain Spaghetti with Kale In A Roasted Garlic Butter Sauce...

The other day I was really in the mood for pasta, but rather then a traditional marinara or just a little olive oil I wanted a rich, buttery garlic sauce to serve over my spaghetti. I had something scampi like in mind, except I wanted to roast the garlic and blend it into the sauce rather then just mince it and saute it. The following recipe Is what I dreamt up, served with a few slices of multi-grain bread, sliced tomatoes and a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar it was an instant hint at my table! I hope you enjoy it as well.

Multi-Grain Spaghetti with Kale In A Roasted Garlic Butter Sauce

8 oz Multi-Grain spaghetti
1 Bunch Kale
1 Bunch Green Onions chopped
½ Bunch Parsley finely chopped
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Roasted Garlic Butter Sauce

2 Heads Garlic, Roasted
½ C non-dairy Butter (such as Earth Balance I used original but I’m sure any of their flavors would work)
1/4 C White Wine (to taste)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 ½ tsp dried Oregano
1 Tbsp dried Basil
1-2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (to taste)
A Pinch Sea salt and Black Pepper to taste

*** Note- To Roast Garlic peel away the outer skin from the bulbs. Slice a quarter inch or so off the top of each bulb and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil, and place on a baking sheet in a 400'F (202'C) oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until garlic is soft and easily pierced with a fork. Let cool, before using. ***

To make the Roasted Garlic Sauce....

- Place Earth Balance into a small pot on the stove and let melt over low heat. Remove each clove of garlic from the bulb. Since it’s roasted and soft this should be fairly easy. The garlic cloves will come nicely away from the skin, and you can squeeze out the smaller cloves.

- Once all cloves of garlic have been removed from the bulb, mash them with a spoon or the back of a fork.

- Once Earth Balance has melted, add olive oil, lemon juice, white wine and the mashed garlic to the pot. Stir until well combined and creamy. It’s okay if there are a few lumps of garlic, no worries.

- Add in the oregano, basil, pinch of sea salt and pepper, stir and let simmer over low about 5-10 minutes. Taste for flavor and adjust as needed. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Pasta...

- Fill a pot with water, bring to a boil and once boiling cook and drain pasta as directed by package.

- Chop your kale into bite sized pieces and place in a large saute pan with a little bit of water. Saute on Medium-Low until Kale is bright green and beginning to wilt. About 5-10 minutes.

- Once kale has softened and decreased in size, add the green onions and parsley to the kale. Stir to combine and then pour the Roasted Garlic Butter Sauce into the pan. Stir again to coat kale thoroughly.

- Toss your cooked spaghetti with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and distribute amongst plates. Top each plate of pasta with the kale mixture, then toss and serve.

*** Note - The sauce may not look like a lot once you’ve made it, but for 8oz worth of pasta it is quite a bit. If you like your pasta slightly more dry and less saucy I recommend you only pour half of the sauce over the kale. Reserving the other half to distribute over your individual plates as wanted/needed. Remember you can always add more, but you can’t take it away once you’ve added it! ***

*** Note - If you use gluten-free multi grain spaghetti as I did then this dish is gluten-free. I used a multi-grain combination of rice, quinoa, and amaranth, which was very good. Obviously to omit serving the pasta alongside bread if you have gluten intolerance. ***