Elbow Chickpea Pasta With Kale And Artichoke Sauce

The other day I had a craving for spinach and artichoke dip, but I was also so hungry, I knew I had to make myself a complete dinner. When I got home from my barre class, I realized I didn't have any spinach, BUT of course I had some kale on hand. So instead of making myself a healthy spinach and artichoke dip, I made a few tweaks and created a light kale and artichoke sauce and tossed it with some Banza chickpea pasta. YUM.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 box Banza elbow pasta
• 2 cups kale leaves
• 1/2 jarred artichoke hearts (I used the ones in just water)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package.

2. While pasta is cooking, combine kale, artichoke hearts, garlic, yogurt, olive oil, and pepper in a food processor blender. Blend until mixture creamy, but it's okay if there are still chunks of kale – it adds to the texture. If the mixture is too think, you can either add some more yogurt and olive oil, or if you want to avoid any more fat, you can squeeze in a little bit of lemon. 

3. Add pasta back to the pot and add sauce. Heat on low, and toss pasta around in sauce until it is evenly coated and warm.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.