Kale pesto pasta with Caprese eggplant

Get ready everyone! This dish is a Hanna original. My roommate used to say that she was going to buy me a bunch of random ingredients and have me do my own episode of Chopped because I used to make the craziest concoctions. I was a poor college student and I would have to make due with what I had in the fridge or pantry, and come the end of the month...that was usually quite a hodgepodge of ingredients. So one day I was hungry and looking around at what I had I came up with this...Kale pesto with Caprese eggplant. It was actually fabulous and in the off chance that I have this random mix of foods all at the same time I would certainly make it again!

Don't mind my weird picture, it was from a long time ago and it doesn't even have all the ingredients in it and I found it on my Intragram....gimme a break I was clearly going through a rough time haha. 

So you can easily make this into your typical pesto pasta if you have those ingredients, but I do encourage you to think outside the box here and try the kale. It was a good experience and I just LOVE kale.

What you'll need (what I used):

1 bushel of kale

1 small eggplant

Linguine noodles

1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 small tomato

2 eggs

1/2 cup olive oil

toasted nuts (almonds or pine nuts)

garlic, minced

a few leaves of fresh basil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Prepare the kale pesto by wilting down the kale slightly with the minced garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the wilted kale to a food processor with the toasted nuts. Pulse while slowly streaming in olive oil until you have a thin paste like texture, this can take up to 1/2 cup olive oil.

2. Prepare the eggplant by slicing into 1/2 inch rounds. Toss slices in about 3 tbsp salt and place in a colander over a large bowl for about 30-40 minutes until eggplant releases about 1/4 cup liquid. This helps to get a crispy eggplant as well as reduces the bitterness eggplants can have once cooked. Once this is done give them a quick rinse and place on paper towel and pat dry. 

3. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Set up your breading station for the eggplant. One shallow bowl with the 2 beaten eggs, one with the breadcrumbs and then have a greased baking sheet ready. First dip rounds in the egg then coat with the breadcrumbs then place onto the baking sheet. Bake these for about 30 minutes, flipping at about the 20 minute mark.

4. Start your water boiling and prepare the pasta according to package instructions.

5. Assemble the plate but tossing the cooked pasta with the kale pesto (add more salt and pepper here if desired). Place eggplant slice on top of pasta and top with a slice of mozzarella cheese, then a thin slice of tomato, then a basil leaf, and a drizzle of balsamic. 

And there you have it, a Hanna creation. I know it isn't a quick and easy one, but man was it worth it....and good thing because I didn't have any back-up plan!

Now go be resourceful and make your own creation out of all your kitchen odds and ends, maybe you will have a successful one like me!