Pasta with cavolo nero and chickpeas

It's has not been one of my most successful weeks in the kitchen so far, on Monday I made Green Pesto Pasta with Broccoli and Pine nuts using my first attempt at kale pesto (or pesto in general for that matter). The pesto was a bit too bitter for my liking and I think I need to work on the recipe a bit.

Yesterday went OK, fennel was not completely my cup of tea and although the roast broccoli was amazing the 'roasties' were a let down. So tonight, if it wasn't for the fact that I had already got all the veg for this week (and therefore feel inclined to use it) I probably would have resorted to some kind of Quorn based meal with curly fries!

Tonight was my first taste of cavolo nero, and I found this recipe on the BBC Food website.  I made a few adjustments; the recipe is for 4 so I reduced the amounts accordingly, I used some mild cheddar I had in the fridge instead of the Pecorino and I used some dried wholewheat penne pasta which I cooked according to the packet instructions.

The results were very nice, I just love the colour of cavolo nero and kale when you fry it, it goes such a lovely dark green and so shiny. The taste of the lemon just seem to cling to the leaves giving it a lovely taste. If I was to make it again, I would probably add some chilli, if only to give the dish a bit more colour.