Hearty kale is a widely available, year-round vegetable, as fresh and easy to find on a grocery aisle in January as it is in June. With the plethora of other locally grown vegetables that begin to pop up in June, accommodating kale could easily be pushed to the back burner in the summer.

I, however, think about ways to enjoy kale in recipes now, more than ever.

I've found kale and other cabbage varieties to be easy-to-grow, attractive additions to my flower beds. It must be the varieties I'm cultivating greeting me each morning that make me hungry to use kale in that evening's recipes.

My kale is too young to harvest, but several varieties are available in groceries around town.

I've been making adaptations of a classic Italian dish that uses a particular kind of buckwheat pasta, pizzoccheri, since my early days of professional cooking. It's a hearty, buttery dish (found on many upscale vegetarian restaurant menus) and its hearty flavors are much appreciated in the winter months. But it's quite cool for June and my sage bush, another classic ingredient in this dish, is ready for pruning; tonight's dinnerFeed is decided!

This dish unites the earthy flavor of buckwheat pasta with the contrasting texture of cubed potatoes, greens (often a cabbage variety), garlic, sage and a soft cheese, such as Taleggio or fontina. In past recipes I've layered the noodles with the vegetables, potatoes and cheese and baked it in a 425Ëš oven about 20 minutes. Tonight's preparation is a bit simpler.

I've had trouble finding the classic Italian buckwheat pasta for the dish. It is relatively easy to make from scratch, but I substitute soba noodles for the pizzocheri with delicious results. Swiss chard or savoy cabbage are excellent substitutions for the kale; Fontina cheese may substitute for the Tallegio.

I've reduced the amount of butter I generally use to make this dish, but it still may be an excessive amount for you. Further reduce the amount or substitute olive oil for the butter if desired.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes
Cost: apx. $16

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil (or combination of both)
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
10 sage leaves, plus 2 additional leaves for garnish
2 bunches Lacinato kale* stems discarded, washed and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 pound buckwheat pasta
8 ounces Italian Tallegio** cheese, cubed
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Red pepper flakes

* Whole Foods regularly stocks this kale
**Excellent imported ItalianTallegio is available at Zingerman's and Whole Foods.

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Melt butter in a medium-sized sauté pan over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and sage and cook until butter is lightly browned with a nutty aroma, removing garlic when it has browned. Turn off heat and reserve.
3. Meanwhile, boil water and add kale. Cook 4 minutes; add potatoes and cook for 6 minutes or until both are tender. Scoop them out, shake off excess water and place into a bowl.
4. In the same pot, cook noodles according to package instructions, drain and combine with kale, potatoes and sage butter. Add Tallegio and stir. Season to taste with Parmesan, kosher salt and red pepper flakes. Garnish with chopped sage and serve.