Kale, eggplants and heirlooms oh my!!

So this week I got my hand on some beautiful baby eggplants, kale and heirloom tomatoes. What to make?



So I decided to make a kale appetizer inspired by things I have eaten at Franny's (my favorite restaurant in Brooklyn, btw they are coming out with a cookbook soon). And as for the eggplants and tomatoes I made a gorgeous sauce for pasta.

For the kale appetizer I used:
1 bunch of lacinto kale
1 can of cannelinni beans (Eden brand)
1 leek
1 lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pecorino romano

I sautéed some thinly sliced leeks with the kale, which I left whole. I used a normal olive oil for sautéing. As soon as the kale was wilted and cooked, I added in the cup of beans and cooked it all together for a minute. Then I chilled the whole concoction, dressed it with lemon juice, fancy olive oil, salt and pepper, and of course some pecorino romano. It made a delicious appetizer.



For the pasta sauce I used
8 baby eggplants
12 heirloom medium sized tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 a can of tomato paste
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

I sautéed the garlic and chunks of cut up eggplant in olive oil, then added diced tomatoes and the tomato paste, covered the whole thing and let it simmer, until it turned into a thick chunky sauce. I then grated a ton of parmesan cheese into it!
I put it on some pasta called spagiatelle or something like that. I think you could do it on a fusilli or ziti or penne!