Orecciette Pasta with Savory Greens

Do me a favor and make this very satisfying, very nutritious and very scrumptious pasta recipe.  You can keep it vegetarian or you can add any type of sauteed lean mean to give it an extra punch of protein.  Meghan, BAWS's yoga instructor, first cooked this recipe without meat and placed 1/2 of the recipe aside for herself.  In her half, she replaced the cheese with nutritional yeast and bread crumbs (she is vegan).  For the other half, her husband wanted some chicken in his so she grilled chicken and used parmesan cheese.  Just goes to show how versatile and simple this dish can be.

-3/4 pound orecchiette pasta
-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-2 tablespoons capers, crushed with a fork
-1 tablespoon pepper flakes
-1/2 pound bunch of kale, stalks removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons
-1/2 cup parmesan cheese
*If you are Vegan, use 1/4 of bread crumbs and 1/4 nutritional yeast instead of the cheese.

Bring a large stockpot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook orecchitte until tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
While pasta cooks, combine the oil, capers and red pepper flakes in a large, deep skillet.  Mash the capers with a fork and sauté over a medium high flame 3-4 minutes.
Add the kale and reduce the heat to medium.  Sautee 3 minutes or just until kale wilts.  Add pasta and toss.
Add the pram cheese and toss to combine.  If pasta is too dry, and several tablespoons of broth, water or more oil.
*Recipe courtesy of Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking.