It’s 2020 and the first two weeks have been a blur of work, illness and a country shrouded in smoke and fire.

I’ve been sharing information on how to donate to Australian Bushfire relief on my Instagram and have made my own donations to Wild Life Rescue and the CFA in Victoria (my home state). I get that donating isn’t possible for everyone but keeping informed and making sure reliable, truthful information is being shared is also super important and free to do. It’s horrifying to see misinformation being spread and some of our politicians refusing to acknowledge the circular link between these bushfires, climate change (drought, extreme heat), and lessening opportunities for hazard reduction practices.

I know you’re here for a recipe though so I’ll get to that! This one uses finely grated tomato and extra virgin olive oil to make a glorious garlicky tomato stained oil that coats the pasta. Filled with shredded kale, and the acidic salty tang of capers it’s an easy and moorish combination.

It also reflects how I would like to move forward with this blog: easy recipes, full of flavour, less waste (kale stalks are the new broccoli stalks!), and encouraging a balanced diet full of vegetables.

Grated tomato adds so much flavour to the base for this pasta and is a great way to make a quick, simple, flavoursome sauce.

Serves 2

Ingredients

180g dried pasta

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 x Roma tomatoes, halved

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 stalk of Tuscan kale with leaves (should be about a cup and a half when chopped)

1 Tbs Capers, roughly chopped

1 Tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup basil leaves

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook pasta according to packet directions, drain reserving one cup of cooking water.

While pasta is cooking make your sauce:

Use a box grater on the coarse side to grate tomatoes, open side against the grated. I use the skins finely slice in salads but they’re not needed in this recipe.

Place a medium pan on medium high heat, once hot add 1/2 the oil and then the tomato, chilli and garlic. Add a pinch of salt.

Cook for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile finely chop the kale all the way down to the stalk discarding the last inch. Add the kale stalk to the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Add the capers and remaining kale along with the remaining oil. Cook for 3 minutes.

Finely slice half the basil and then add to the sauce along with the drained pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water. Take off the heat and stir through 1/3 cup of parmesan and the lemon juice.

Serve garnished with remaining basil, Parmesan and zest.

HH. x