spaghetti with cavolo nero and pancetta

i’m loving the new autumnal vegetables that are appearing everywhere at the moment. one of my absolute favourites from last year was cavolo nero and i’ve been eating lots of it over the past few weeks. as well as having it as a side vegetable so something like sausages baked with fennel and cherry tomato, i’ve added it to risottos and pasta.

last year it was all about jamie oliver’s blokes sausage pasta, which i added the cavolo nero to. this year it’s pancetta that is the shining co-star with my black kale.

this was a very simple supper – while the spaghetti cooked i fried, in a little butter, some pancetta pieces, chilli flakes and garlic slices. cavolo nero leaves were stripped of their chewy central vein and shredded before being added to the pan with a glug of wine. the leaves quickly wilted down and i added a few sunblush tomatoes along with the cooked pasta. very quick, very simple and utterly delicious. the same flavours work well in a risotto.

i'm sharing this with ruth who is hosting this week's presto pasta nights!