Cavolo nero & garlic cream sauce

[wattapain]

 
 
  Cavolo Nero & Garlic Cream Sauce

Just had this for our tea - Yummmmm - from Monty Don's - Fork to Fork


To feed 6 -                                     

450g cavolo nero
6 plump cloves of mild garlic
300 ml dble cream ( we used creme fraiche cos I actually prefer it)
1 tbs EV olive oil
50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese  ( + extra for serving)
Sea salt + pepper



Strip out the middle rib of the cavolo nero & discard
Blanch in boiling salted water for 5 mins, then drain well
Peel the garlic cloves, prick them with a fork, but  leave whole, & put in a pan with the cream & creme fraiche). Bring to the boil & simmer for 10 mins.
If you want  a mild sauce, remove the garlic (I didn't)
Now put the cavolo nero + the cream mixture in the food processor - blend tll you have a pale green sauce with dark green flecks.
Return to the pan to warm through, then add the Parmesan & the oil.

Mix cooked pasta into the sauce to coat it well & serve with extra Parmesan to sprinkle over.

Dear Monty advises fresh homemade pasta - but we used boring dried stuff I'm afraid 

Very delicious though & easy & cheap , using your own home grown stuff.

[wattapain]

[Moggle]

Sounds yummy!

[Mrs Ava]

How do you de-whitefly your cavolo tho watta?  Or was yours whitefly free?  Mine wasn't, and altho it wasn't infested, I have just spend a fair while making sure it was clean of the critters and their babies before placing it over my chicken stew in the slow cooker.

[wattapain]

Wasn't SO much of a prob with this as with the brussels :o.
Now they were/are covered with the  >:( things.
Cavolo nero however was almost wiped out by caterpillars as I didn't  net them  ::). Lost a few plants and had the  stuffing knocked out of the rest , so not had a lot from them really .
This recipe was scrumptious though so will def be growing it again (netted ;D)
Terri 8)
Ps love the pic Emma - taken today?

[Mrs Ava]

Yup, taken today, and the little darling got me!

My brussels weren't as bad as the kale.  And the pests were right inside the wrinkles and bubbles of the leaves so they were a pain to wash.  However, I love cavolo so it was well worth the bother.

[Emagggie]

Please, what is Cavolo Nero? I don't think I've met it before.

[Mrs Ava]

Lovely black kale.  Get's blacker after the cold has been on it. 

[artichoke]

What I loved about cavalo nero last year was the way it started sprouting in spring, with a whole new lease of life and flavour. I agree whitefly is difficult to dislodge, but this year I have grown it on a new allotment in a big field with few other allotments, and any whitefly around don't seem to have noticed it (yet). A very useful and strikingly handsome plant. I am definitely going to be trying this wonderful recipe.

[Mrs Ava]

I cut half of mine for Christmas artichoke, but left about half the stem in the ground.  They now look like big pompoms covered in lovely small tender leaves.  These are soooo delicious and need hardly any cooking.

[artichoke]

How do you mean you left half the stem in the ground? Did you peel off all the leaves and leave the whole stem - or did you chop off the top and leave the rest in the ground? I'd be really interested to know.

Mine have had yellowed, damaged leaves removed, leaving a layer of big leaves; then I took off the younger edible leaves as they appeared; at the moment they are big fat stalks with huge lower leaves (I hope they are keeping it alive) a bare stretch, and a pompom on the top that I am trying to keep my hands off.

[tilts]

I heard that if you put the leaves into a bowl of salted water to wash it , the whitefly 'let go'..... mine were netted so none of the blighters to test this on!

[Mrs Ava]

I chopped it artichoke.  Took it back to the last good leaf and cut across the stem with my secatuers.  Now it is in full growth again.  Lovely fresh leaves.

[OliveOil]

ooo that sounds heavenly!

A co worker has been tellng me every day this week that i STINK of garlic - she loves garlic but reckons i wreak of it LOL.. i have had an average of 2 cloves per day this past week.

[artichoke]

Emma Jane, thanks - I don't think I would have dared. I'm going to try it on a couple of mine to see....