Green pasta with pangrattato

Photo / Ben Dearnley

With Leah Itsines' cookbook Good Food Made Simple dinner time is no chore – easy to follow recipes that are full of flavour mean mealtimes are a treat. Leah says, "You have to try this. It's simple, but so flavoursome. You could easily make it vegan by using vegan feta cheese. For a gluten-free meal, use gluten-free pasta and breadcrumbs."

Ingredients

2 Tbsp	olive oil
1	brown onion, chopped
3 cups	chopped kale
¾ cup	frozen baby peas
4 cloves	garlic, crushed
1 cup	vegetable stock
500g	pasta shells
1	avocado, halved
1 Tbsp	lemon juice
1 bunch	basil, leaves picked
200g	Danish feta cheese, crumbled

Pangrattato

1 Tbsp	garlic-infused olive oil
½ cup	panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp	finely grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium–high heat. Cook the onion for a couple of minutes, then add the kale and cook for a few more minutes. Add the peas and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain the pasta well, reserving ¼ cup of the water, and return to the pan.
4. Meanwhile, to make the pangrattato, heat the garlic oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and lemon zest and cook, stirring regularly, for a few minutes or until crisp and golden. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Pour the vegetable mixture into a blender and add the pasta water, avocado flesh, lemon juice and basil, reserving a few leaves for garnishing. Season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
6. Stir the sauce through the pasta. Serve topped with the feta, pangrattato and reserved basil leaves.

Edited extract from Good Food Made Simple by Leah Itsines, photography by Ben Dearnley Published by Murdoch Books RRP $42.99. Cover photograph: Frame Creative

Cover photograph: Frame Creative

1. Serves: 4