I keep wanting pasta fagioli in more and more configurations. This time we had a bunch of farmer's market purple flatleaf kale. What could happen?

Kale fagioli!

olive oil
garlic/onion
hot pepper if you want it
tomato
cooked white beans
water/broth
kale
oregano, basil, salt, pepper

This is just like any other fagioli, except you add and wilt chopped kale before the puree. That doesn't make it any less exciting, though!

Peel and chop garlic and onion in whatever proportion you like. I may have used only garlic in this one. Soften garlic/etc in olive oil in a saute pan deep enough to allow for a later stick blender puree. If you want spicy fagioli, finely mince, add, and soften a hot pepper of your choice as well. Season with some oregano and basil, plus any other herb you think sounds good.

When the vegetables are soft, add tomato. We use puree the great majority of the time; whatever you have is fine. If it's summer, use real tomatoes and bask in the glory of FOOD.

Bring tomatoes to a simmer, then add white beans. We'll normally use either one can or about two cups of presoaked/boiled beans. At this point you may need to add some water or broth to keep the sauce sufficiently liquid while you cook it. If you're using a can, swish some rinse water in it and add the whole business to the pan.

Now simmer the sauce while you put on the (chunky, sauce-catching) pasta and destem and chop a bunch of kale. I think we had about eight or ten big leaves. If you don't have kale, things like spinach, chard, or other reasonable greens should work here too. Just add them at a realistic time so they get as cooked as is good for them.

When the sauce is sufficiently simmered, add the chopped kale, stir to mix, and cook for about seven or eight more minutes. You want the kale to be just cooked through. For more delicate greens, a couple minutes should be plenty of time.

Now take the pan off the heat, salt and pepper to taste, and puree it with your stick blender. O stick blender, I love you so. You let me puree things without issues even in a two inch deep sauteuse!

At this point your sauce is done, so pour in your cooked, drained pasta, mix it up, and get yourself a big bowl. Add parsley or parmesan for garnish if you want them. Eat heartily.

SO GOOD AND SO WORTH IT.

Look how much sauce there is! The pasta is totally subsumed! This of course means we have the correct amount of pasta in proportion to sauce, especially since the sauce is 100% awesome vegetable nutrition slurry.