Fresh Maltagliati Pasta with Tuscan Kale Pesto

Remove leaves from tough stems of Tuscan kale, set aside.  Bring small pan of water to boil, and add Tuscan kale.  Boil until cooked through and soft, between 7-8 minutes (cooking time will be shorter if kale is very tender).  Remove from heat, drain kale and allow to cool. 

Blend cooled-off kale in mixer until uniform and creamy.  Remove from blender and mix with eggs.  Create mound of two blended flours on working surface, and create well in center.  Add kale and egg mix, slowly bringing in flour with fork and using up all flour to create soft, smooth dough that holds its shape when formed into ball.

Continue kneading dough with your palm on floured working space. Knead until dough is soft, elastic, and compact. Shape dough into ball, cover with plastic wrap to maintain elasticity.

Rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Clean 2 bunches of Tuscan kale as above, removing leaves from tough stems.  Set leaves aside and discard stems (you can keep them handy for boiling with other veggie discards when making your own vegetable-based broth).  

Bring small pot of salted water to boil, add prepped kale leaves and allow to cook 7-8 minutes (or closer to 5 minutes if leaves are very tender).  When cooked through, remove from heat and drain.  Working in small bunches, wrap leaves in kitchen towel or sturdy paper towel and squeeze out excess water from kale leaves.  

In small sauce pot, coat bottom with 100 grams of extra-virgin olive oil and heat over medium heat.   While oil is heating, smash garlic cloves lightly, removing skins and inner green stems if present.  Rinse anchovies from salt and lightly pat - you can also use anchovies cured in oil instead and skip the rinsing.  When oil is heated, add smashed garlic cloves and rinsed anchovies.  Allow to cook until garlic is lightly browned and anchovies have dissolved (over medium-low heat).  Remove immediately from heat, being sure garlic is not overcooked or too brown.  

Place squeezed kale leaves into blender, and add garlic and anchovy mix with oil directly to blender.  Combine all ingredients together, and blend until fairly creamy and dense.  If necessary, add additional oil until you reach desidered consistency.  Adjust to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Remove plastic wrap from pasta dough, and shape into rectangle approximately the width of your pasta machine. Begin rolling out dough using prepared pasta machine, generously dusting machine with semola to prevent dough from sticking. Flatten dough through machine until desired thickness is reached, adjusting knobs to make dough thinner with each passage.

Dust working space well with semola. Place pasta sheet on top of work space, and with either knife or pasta cutter, cut dough into irregular square shapes. Dust kitchen tray with semola flour, and place pasta shapes on top.

Maltagliati shapes can be made also directly from leftover dough when making ravioli or tortelli. In this case, use kitchen knife to simply cut leftover dough into irregular shapes.

Boil large pot of salted water, add fresh maltagliati shapes, allow to cook for at least 2 minutes. Drain well, add Tuscan kale pesto to pot with pasta, removing from heat altogether.

Allow flavors to combine a few moments, and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and finely ground breadcrumbs (toasted for additional flavor depth).  Serve hot.