Recipe & photography by Florence Blair.
Ingredients
Serves 4
200g cavolo nero
30g basil, leaves picked
240g cooked white beans (either from a jar or drained if from a tin)
50g parmesan
4 garlic cloves
350g fusilli
Large handful of chopped, toasted nuts to serve
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. As the water comes to the boil, strip
the cavolo nero leaves from the woody stems. Save the woody stems for another
day (I like them fried with garlic and lemon). Put the basil and white beans in a
blender and grate in the parmesan.
Once the salted water is boiling, add the cavolo nero leaves and whole garlic
cloves to the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the cavolo nero is bright green and
wilted. Scoop the cavolo nero and garlic out of the water with tongs or a slotted
spoon and transfer to the blender. Don’t worry if little splashes of water piggy back
with the leaves, you’ll need a bit of water to get things going anyway. Blitz until
smooth and taste for seasoning.
Add the fusilli to the same pot of salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
Reserve a mug of pasta water then drain. Toss the drained fusilli with the green
sauce, adding a little splash of reserved pasta water to loosen if needed. Taste for
seasoning and serve with chopped nuts scattered on top.
