PAPPARDELLE WITH KALE AND WALNUT PESTO

Preparation 20 minutes Cooking about 20 minutes Serves 4 If you want to make this pasta dish suitable for vegetarians, use a Parmesan alternative and leave out the pancetta. You could even replace it with drained borlotti or butter beans, folded through to finish. The pesto also works well in sandwiches or with roast chicken – it will keep in the fridge for a few days if you cover the top with a thin film of olive oil.

150g kale 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 150g walnut halves, lightly toasted and roughly chopped small bunch of basil leaves 50g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve 100ml extra-virgin olive oil 160g smoked pancetta, diced 300g egg pappardelle

To make the pesto, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt and blanch the kale for around 45 seconds. Drain and refresh under cold water. Squeeze any excess moisture from the kale and roughly chop. Put the garlic cloves in a food processor with 90g walnuts, the basil leaves, Parmesan and the chopped kale. Pulse to chop finely, then gradually add the oil with the motor running. Finish with 3 tbsp

water, then season to taste (remembering that the pancetta will be salty). The pesto should still retain some texture. Put the pancetta in a dry frying pan and set over a low heat. Cook slowly for 5 minutes, until the fat begins to run, then turn up the heat and cook until golden and crisp. Drain on a piece of kitchen towel. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water, according to the packet instructions. Reserve a mugful of the cooking water before draining. Return to the pan with the pesto and a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water to loosen. Use tongs to turn the pasta to coat it, adding half the crisp pancetta. Divide the pasta between four warm bowls and finish by topping with the remaining walnut halves and pancetta, and more grated Parmesan to taste.