| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 cups baby kale
- 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (1 large orange)
- 1/4 cup orange juice (1/2 orange)
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 pound gemelli pasta
- One 2 1/2-pound rotisserie chicken, meat picked and shredded (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup red or green Cerignola olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
- For the pesto: Place the walnuts, garlic and kale in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil to form a smooth sauce. Add the salt, pepper flakes, orange zest, orange juice and Parmesan. Pulse until well blended. Pour the pesto into a large bowl and set aside.
- For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gemelli and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the hot pasta to the bowl with the pesto, and toss well with a rubber spatula to coat. Add the chicken, the Cerignola and Kalamata olives, and the salt and Parmesan. Toss again. Loosen with pasta water as needed. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1122 |
| Total Fat | 73 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 63 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 54 g |
| Cholesterol | 130 mg |
| Sodium | 1026 mg |
Reviews
I hadn’t worked with kale before so I was slightly nervous to give this recipe a go. I was also surprised that the pesto doesn’t call for basil, but I wanted to try it anyway. I’m glad I did. The kale definitely has a prominent and strong flavor (and smell), but I thought it was balanced nicely with the rest of the ingredients. Also, I used pine nuts instead of almonds just because I wanted to use what was available. I used half a cup and it tasted delicious, though I’m sure the almonds would work great, too. Makes a (TON) of pasta and the recipe is definitely worth trying out!
Delicious with absolutely no substitutions!
The orange is the perfect offset to the kale. I served with lump crab instead of rotisserie chicken. It was amazing. We’ll definitely have it again.
Awsome dish! Kale is alright not a real fan, but this was great! It had a nutty garlicky taste. The chicken and parmesan with the olives gave it a nice layer of flavors along with that hint of orange. Thank you Giada – loved it.
I like kale, I just don’t love it, and it’s a very strong flavor in this dish. I was hoping for the kale to be more of an undertone, not the shinning star. I guess I am a more traditional pesto kind of gal. I did like the olives and the orange flavor in this. It was a good change-up from a traditional pesto dish, just not the right one for me. All the parm is a must. I will use this recipe again but I will substitute Giada’s Lemon Basil Pesto instead.
This was very yummy. My man loved it too! I will certainly make it again. I would add a bit more chili flakes. Other than that recipe is great as is. There are a lot of ways to make this a bit different. I am looking forward to other folks posting their reviews.
This was such a tasty recipe. I like that this calls for kale instead of basil because I felt less guilty consuming all of that olive oil because of the kale’s nutrition. I forgot to finish the pasta with parmesan at first, and it didn’t taste quite as good until I added it. Definitely try this recipe!
THX GIADA FOR UR AWESOME RECIPES;-);-)