Recipe: Kale Pesto Pasta Casserole (Gluten-Free)

This kale pesto pasta casserole is filling, delicious, and so easy to make! It has an especially savory, umami twist thanks to the addition of sun-dried tomatoes and olives. I also sautéed thin strips of eggplant in a bit of olive oil and mixed it all together with the pesto. An absolutely lovely highlight is the crust, which is made of gluten-free bread crumbs mixed with olive oil and garlic. It's crunchy, hearty, and perfect!



(For my family, I doubled the ingredients and served it with cream corn on the side and baked apples with cinnamon.)

This Recipe is :

High Carb VeganVegan
Serves
3-4
Cook Time
30
Ingredients

Kale Pesto:

    About 2 cups of kale
    3 tablespoons olive oil
    1 clove garlic
    Juice of 1 lime
    1 handful fresh parsley
    1/2 cup pine nuts
    Salt, pepper

Pasta Casserole:

    8 ounces gluten-free pasta
    1 recipe kale pesto (see above)
    1 handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
    3/4 cup chopped olives
    1 eggplant
    2 handfuls of gluten-free bread crumbs
    1 clove of garlic
    Olive oil

Preparation

To Make the Pesto:

  *  Wash and chop the kale. Transfer to the bowl of a blender.
 *   Lightly toast the pine nuts. This will help give the pesto a more intense flavor. Let cool a bit, then add to the kale.
 *   Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

To Make the Casserole:

  *  Preheat your oven to 390°F.
  *  Wash the eggplant and cut it into thin slices. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the eggplant slices. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the eggplant begins to soften.
  *  Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
  *  In the meantime, chop the olives and sun-dried tomatoes.
  *  Mix the cooked pasta, sautéed eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and the kale pesto in a large bowl. Transfer to a casserole dish.
  *  In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs with a tablespoon of olive oil and one crushed clove of garlic.  *Spread mixture over the kale pasta.
    Bake for 15-20 minutes.



Many Thanks to One Green Planet for this fantastic Recipe!