Black Bean Pasta with Corn and Kale

Black Bean Pasta with Corn and Kale
serves 3-4

One of my new favorite packaged products on the shelves now is legume-based pasta.  From red lentil to chickpea to black beans (shown here), different bean flours are used instead of refined white flour to create versatile pastas that are high in protein (about 21g per serving) and high in fiber (about 50% of your RDA).  The higher-end brands (like my favorite Tolerant) will usually be purely bean flour and the more moderately priced ones (like Ancient Harvest Pow!, shown here) are a mix of bean and grain flours like quinoa and brown rice.  Use them like you would any other pasta, keeping in mind that they often taste a little sweeter and have less "bite" than traditional white pasta.  

1 8-ounce box of black bean pasta
drizzle of olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of red chile flake
3 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 bunch lacinato kale, shredded or chopped
salt and pepper to taste
garnish: pecorino romano, olive oil and/or lemon zest

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions (the black bean pasta I used cooked in about 5 minutes).  Drain and rinse pasta lightly in water to remove excess starch and halt cooking.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet and add a drizzle of olive oil.  Saute garlic and red chile flake for 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add corn and saute 2 minutes.  Add kale and saute 2-3 minutes more, until kale is wilted.  If the mixture is very dry, add a splash or two of water to get it going.

3.  Gently stir in pasta and season the whole mixture with salt and pepper.  Garnish with grated pecorino romano (or lemon zest), and a drizzle of olive oil and serve.