“Blue Monday” Pasta

“Blue Monday how I hate Blue Monday
Got to work like a slave all day
Here come Tuesday, oh hard Tuesday
I’m so tired got no time to play…”

Or so the legendary Fats Domino’s song goes. Well, if there was ever a tune that could illustrate the way I felt this morning, it would surely be this one. Ok, I don’t work Mondays anyway, but still. I could really use another day, even if it rains like now, even if our blue star ship is about to enter the darkness of winter, go on, just one more day…

On Saturday, I got some fresh local walnuts ( I have never had walnuts so fresh), still a bit moist inside. A neighbour also gave me few leaves of black kale. And I brought home a little triangle of Mature Cashel Blue from co. Tipperary. The script of my Monday lunch was writing itself!

You’ll need:

• few leaves of black kale ( remove the stalks in the middle)
• 6 whole walnuts
• 70g of Mature Cashel Blue or a creamy mild-ish blue
• 1 clove of garlic sliced
• 1 tbsp of natural live yogurt
• 1 small handful of ramen pasta
• 1 wedge of lime

First, remove the stalks of the black cabbage leaves and remove the walnuts from their shells…

In a dry pan, dry roast them until they darken a bit and release a lovely nutty smell; dry roasting means no oil, but be careful not to burn them!

Once done, bring a pot of salted water to the boil, and cook the ramen and the kale leaves at the same time; it will take less than 5 minutes so do not leave the scene! Once the pasta are nearly cooked, drain in a sieve. In a pan, fry gently the slices of garlic, crumble the blue cheese in, the walnuts and the tbsp of yogurt. Stir quickly while adding and tossing the pasta and kale. Serve in a bowl, with a little zest of lime for balance.