Whole Wheat Maccheroni Pasta with Caperberries, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Kale

In shopping for a quick weeknight dinner last night, I knew I wanted to make pasta with our home-jarred tomatoes, garden-grown kale, and leftover leeks. Cremini mushrooms were definitely on my grocery list, but I needed something else to make the recipe special. 

Guess what I found at my local wine merchant to spice things up? Amazingly delicious caperberries! The larger caper berries usually end up on my charcuterie plate, but I don’t usually see them at the grocery store. Bringing them home, I sliced through them and they had a really nice pinkish color. So beautiful in this pasta!

This recipe is great for the weeknight where you want a diverse amount of vegetables, lots of flavor, and don’t have a lot of time in the kitchen. The clean up isn’t bad either, so consider this one for your next simple pasta dish!

Whole Wheat Maccheroni Pasta with Caperberries, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Kale

Time: 35 Minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients
Butter, 2 tbsp, divided
Olive oil, 3 tbsp, divided
12 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large leek, white and light green parts, cut into thin rounds
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 bunch kale, ribs removed, roughly chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb whole wheat maccheroni Pasta
6 large caperberries, thinly sliced or 2 tbsp small capers, drained
Parmesan, grated, 1.5 cups, divided

Directions
In a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil. Add ½ of the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until mushrooms are tender and lightly browned, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a plate and repeat with remaining mushrooms.

While mushrooms cook, heat 1 tbsp oil to a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in leeks and sauté until leeks are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add tomatoes, kale, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, for 20-25 minutes, until kale is tender. Stir in caperberries.

Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Add cooked pasta to tomato sauce as well as reserved pasta water, if desired. Stir to incorporate over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup parmesan and serve immediately. Garnish with parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.