Cavolo Nero Spaghetti
Three family friendly dishes to get leafy greens on the table, including a green spaghetti, so green it would make Popeye blush.
My eldest child turned 10 years old this weekend, we had planned to celebrate her first decade (and ours of parenting) with a suitably bright and loud Nintendo disco. Excitement has been building for weeks, with mounting admin. There was the small hurdle of gathering her class list, with the added complexity GDPR brings to the party. By some miracle a guest list was compiled and a class party was finalised in the 3 weeks from the school gates opening in early September, to her birthday three weeks later.
There is never room to rest on one’s laurels, the fleeting feeling of control was shattered as inevitably the first family member came down with a back to school bug. Five days away from the event… cue a panic of vitamins, early nights and segregating ourselves away from the guilty party. In a frenzy to keep the show on the road I loaded the fridge and kitchen with a mountain of green vegetables, hoping to get more nutrients into our meals. For us adults, that meant steamed Winter greens like this beautiful sprouting broccoli, dressed with a spiky extra virgin olive oil, lemon and sea salt. Secretly this is actually the sort of food I crave. Any blood test will reveal my precarious levels of iron and dark leafy greens are a guilty pleasure. Whilst my husband grimaces I will happily munch through a plateful.
Sometime ago, before I started writing recipes, I completed a course at Leith’s Cookery School Nutrition in Cooking (this was a wonderful experience and I’ve linked the latest version of this here as I would really recommend it). My love of cookery writing also crosses over with a keen interest in nutrition and how we can best fuel our bodies. I remember the module we did on iron and iron absorption: a key takeaway was that Vitamin C has been shown to enhance iron absorption. Capturing non-heme iron and storing it in a form that is more easily absorbed by our body. [Vitamin C rich foods include citrus, fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, bell peppers, melons, and strawberries]. I have since always tried to pair vitamin C and iron rich foods together, an easy place to start is with citrus. Simply squeezing lemon over iron rich leafy greens, or creating a beautiful citrus dressing to accompany a green salad and a steak.
My children won’t fall for any of this and I have to be much more inventive if it’s leafy greens on the menu. The three dishes I can safely say to have passed this test are a good homemade Minestrone with finely shredded kale (added before the end of cooking) and melting into the tomato, broth, pasta base. Served with good garlic bread. A Mediterranean style Spinach Pie, loaded with crumbled cheese’s and pine nuts, wrapped into irresistible golden pastry. And finally a Green Spaghetti, so green it would make Popeye blush, with a smooth glossy sauce made from blanched cavolo nero.
These three meals my children will eat without fuss and therefore I would be remiss not to link them here and place a bigger spotlight on this fabulous Spaghetti dish. So this week I say Go forth… to all the parents bravely battling Autumn schedules whilst walking the tight rope of Winter bugs. And, yes we did all make it to the disco!
Cavolo Nero Spaghetti
serves 3-4 people
200-300g cavolo nero
3 cloves garlic, peeled
300g spaghetti
50g Parmesan
25-35ml good quality olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
extra Parmesan, to serve
Wash the Cavolo nero leaves well, the small pockets in the leaves can collect grit and soil. Next use a knife to remove the stem/ stalk from the leaves, you should just be left with the dark green leaf itself. Blanche the Cavolo nero in boiling water for 8 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic which will boil and soften with the Winter leaves.
Meanwhile cook the spaghetti according to the packer instructions, in salted water. To finish the sauce, remove the now blanched Cavolo nero and garlic from the pot and add to a blender. Add a gaeneous amount of good quality olive oil; this will be between 25ml-50ml and judge how much as you blend your sauce, you want a smooth pesto-like consistency. Blend the oilve oil, Cavolo nero and garlic. Next add the Parmesan (grated or cut into small chunks to save your blender), a little more oil if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.
Before draining the spaghetti, remove a cup of pasta water (to help bring your spaghetti and sauce together), set this aside. Once the spaghetti is cooked drain the water, return the spaghetti to the pot. Add the Cavolo nero sauce and bring all the parts together, by adding a little pasta water to help the sauce emulsify and coat the spaghetti. Serve straight away with a grating of fine Parmesan and enjoy.
The Green Seasonal Shopping List
On the list of seasonal leafy green to enjoy through the Autumn months
bok choy
broccoli
brussel sprouts
cabbage
cavolo nero
celery
chard
collard greens
kale
rocket
spinach
watercress
The Top 10 Green Gift List for Kids
Something new for our newsletters but I am going to re-start sharing some of my gift lists, or edits. These are not affiliate linked, they are just fun things I have seen and liked. Too good not to share!
Jellycat’s Amusable Vegetables are adorable for small children
Magic Cat Publishing’s Feast Your Eyes on Food book (I need to mention this was gifted to me) I couldn’t love this book for the wonderful illustrations and the emphasis on food and its variety
Wilson’s Plantable Desk Calendar for 2025, such an innovative concept
Fruit and Vegetable memory game Gardener’s Match
Vegetable Tin, by Emma Bridgewater
Mini Carrot Basket Bag, by Daylesford
Avocado Vase from Ilex Studio (we germinated a plant from an avocado stone over the Summer, using this vase and the very brilliant instructions included).
The Kew Gardens Children’s Cookbook, Hachette Children's Group in association with Kew Publishing
Bunny in a Lettuce Toy would make a wonderful gift
In the Garden Sticker Book is beautifully designed