Spaghetti with Kale and Bacon

I've been getting a lot of Kale in my CSA box lately. Other than my Zuppa Toscana Soup, I hadn't tried cooking with it much. I found a recipe similar to this and have now made it several times. The original recipe calls for Brie cheese which is probably delicious, but I'm on a dairy-free diet right now (for Baby James), so I made several adjustments. The first time I made it (prior to going dairy-free) I made it with parmesean, so that is how I will post it. But if you want a dairy-free version, leave the cheese out and melt some vegan butter (I use Earth Balance), and pour over top when finished (to prevent a dry spaghetti).

Spaghetti with Kale and Bacon
Adapted from PBS Food


Ingredients
8 oz spaghetti pasta
3 slices bacon (you can use turkey bacon too)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup shredded parmesean
1 large bunch curly green kale, washed and roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. Drain and set aside.
In a large pan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and crumble. To the hot bacon grease, add the diced onion and minced garlic and sauté briefly over medium heat until fragrant. Then, add the kale and sauté until it begins to wilt, about five minutes.
Add the hot, cooked pasta to the kale along with the cheese and bacon crumbles.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with additional bacon crumbles on top!

Yield: 4 servings