Fettucine with Three-Herb Pesto, Black Kale, and Oyster Mushrooms

                                       from the Veg Times

The first day I made this I was like, Meh. Yet another simple but somewhat boring recipe from the Veg Times.

But second day: scrumptious.

Point being, the flavors really need to meld on this one and really soak into that pasta in order for you to enjoy it in all its glory.

Also: I have no idea what the f- black kale is. I am cheap and lazy and not into obscure vegetables. So I just subbed in regular.

Oh, and I didn't use fresh rosemary/thyme. I'm including the measurements for the fresh stuff, but I think I subbed 1/4 t. dried rosemary and like 1 t. dried thyme. Or something.

Also, the whole "tossing shit into the water with the noodles"-deal, I kinda skipped that (except for the garlic) since I wasn't using fresh.

Also, I subbed in portabellas instead of oyster shroomies.

And I only used like 10 oz. of portabellas. So not nearly 1 1/4 lbs. But it still turned out just fine.

Let's see. What other changes can I toss at you?

Hmmm. Since I didn't have black kale, I used black water to boil the noodles in instead.

I also tossed some of your mom into the cooking water to lend it a bit more spice. BLAM!

Does that make it unvegan? I think not! No moms were actually harmed in the making of this pasta.

Also, and slightly unrelatedly: Greens have been battling it out on my palate lately, all in an effort to decide which is deserving of the position as my favorite green. And right now, collard greens have got kale up against the ropes, but kale could conceivably be pulling a bit of the ol' rope-a-dope, so stay tuned.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c. fresh parsley


• 1/4 c. walnuts


• 5 cloves garlic, divided


• 1 t. finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus 2 large sprigs, divided


• 1 T. fresh thyme leaves, plus 2 large sprigs, divided


• 4 T. olive oil, divided


• 8 oz. black kale (1 bunch), stemmed and coarsely chopped


• 12 oz. Fettucine


• 1 1/4 lb. oyster or other large mushrooms, halved (I used portabellas)


• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 2 c.)


• 1 c. low-sodium veggie broth


• Vegan parmesan, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Blend parsley, walnuts, 3 garlic cloves, thyme and rosemary (minus the sprigs) in the food processor until finely chopped. Add 3 T. oil and blend until smooth.

Cook kale in a large pot of boiling water about 5 mins or until tender. Remove kale to drain but keep water. Bring to a boil again and add pasta, garlic, and remaining sprigs of thyme and rosemary, and cook according to pasta directions and drain.

Heat remaining 1 T. oil in a large pot. Add shrooms and onions and saute about 12 minutes or until tender and golden.

Add pesto and saute 2 minutes or until sauce begins to stick to bottom of pan and turn golden brown. Add broth and simmer 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half, scraping sauce from bottom of pan.

Add kale and pasta to the pot and toss to cook. You can stir in a tiny bit of water as well to moisten, if necessary.

Season with black pepper, vegan parm, and/or salt.

Serves 6.

(Recipe from the Feb. 2009 Veg Times, p. 45)