Baked pasta with kale pesto and bacon pangrattato

DSCN0462Bacon pangrattato: put a few rashers of short-cut bacon in your food processor until finely chopped, add cheese and breadcrumbs and process a little more til the cheese and bacon are more-or-less the same consistency as the breadcrumbs. (Alternatively, add stale bread with the cheese for the breadcrumbs and process for longer.)

DSCN0464Kale pesto: trim the tough ends of the stems of a bunch of kale off, then add the kale and four or five cloves of garlic to your food processor, along with plenty of olive oil. Process until finely chopped and slightly emulsified, then add walnuts and process a little further until your desired consistency is reached. Season with the juice and zest of a lemon and salt.

Stir pesto through cooked pasta, along with your choice of additional ingredients (I used some pumpkin that I boiled with the pasta), top with pangrattato and bake til the crumbs are golden and crisp.