This is what became of the noodles that got nixed from the miso soup a few days ago. They met up with the kale that had been idling in the fridge for about a week, and turned into an NY Times recipe I’d been eyeing for some time.

As usual I was missing a few ingredients, but I think it came out pretty well:

1 bunch kale (oh, alright: 3/4 lb -ish)
1 hunk of gruyere chopped into 1/2″ cubes
1/2 a lemon
3/4 lb soba noodles–maybe a little less
1/2 tsp dried sage leaves (fresh would be better if you have it, I didn’t)
1 onion, chopped,
2 green onions chopped (again, if you look at the original recipe it suggests 2 leeks–I have no doubt 2 leeks would be better, but all I had was an onion and green onions)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Begin heating a large pot of water. Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion(or leeks) and sage, and cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the onions/leeks are tender, about five minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous spoonful of salt and the kale. Boil for four minutes, until tender but still bright. Using a slotted spoon or a skimmer, transfer to the pan with the onions/leeks and stir together. Keep warm over low heat.

3. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente (5 minutes for soba). When the pasta is al dente, add 1/2 cup of the cooking water to the pan with the kale and leeks/onions, then drain the pasta and toss in the pan or in a warm pasta bowl with the onions/leeks, kale and the cheese, and a squirt of lemon juice (about 1/4 lemon should do it, you can add more later if need be). Serve at once with freshly ground pepper.

There is no lemon in the original recipe–but to me lemon and kale (especially when paired with a chicken-ish herb like sage) are a match made in heaven. The original recipe also recommend fresh parmesan. I didn’t have any, and Danish blue cheese seemed like overkill, so I skipped that, added a little more gruyere, and plenty of pepper. Its possible that with the parm you wouldn’t need the lemon. Garlic is a thought too. Feel free to experiment.