Sun-Dried Tomato + Kale Rigatoni

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Vegetarian

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Why we love it:

Writing recipes down means I have to dictate how much cheese to use. Let the record show that when taste testing this, I *probably* added much more cheese! If you buy a container of the ciliegine mozzarella balls, you should have plenty more to cheese up! This dish is super quick, tasty and beautiful.

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Ingredients

1 pound Rigatoni Pasta
1 bunch Lacinato Kale
8 cloves Garlic
¹⁄₂ cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes (in oil)
¹⁄₂ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¹⁄₂ cup White Wine
1 Lemon (zest and juice)
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Black Pepper (freshly cracked)
5 ounces Fresh Mozzarella (ciliegine, use more to taste)
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter

Cooking Instructions

1. BRING A LARGE POT OF WATER TO A BOIL
2. RIGATONI

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water when you drain it.
3. KALE

Wash the kale and remove any part of the ribs thicker than a pencil. Tear or slice the leaves and slice through the stem section thinly. Mince garlic cloves and set aside. Coarsely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and set aside.
4. SAUTÉ

*You need pasta cooking water here, so make sure your pasta is near finished by the time you begin this quick sauce*

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and sun- dried tomatoes Sauté until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the white wine and simmer while you zest in the lemon and add its juice as well. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the reserved ½ cup of pasta water and bring to a boil. Add the kale, red pepper flakes and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Finally, add in the pasta! Toss to coat while the liquid is still bubbling, until it thickens up a bit.
5. SERVING

Turn off the heat, add the butter and stir to melt. Add the mozzarella and serve immediately.

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Substitutions

GLUTEN FREE:

make with GF pasta, but it might not thicken in quite the same way since the pasta water doesn't have starch. You could add a ¼ teaspoon of cornstarch to cold water and stir it in
DAIRY FREE:

omit mozzarella, if desired serve with a big dollop of dairy free ricotta
COW DAIRY FREE:

lots of pecorino over top or try buffalo mozzarella cubes or small balls
WINE:

you can make sure to use a full ½ cup of lemon juice, perhaps that requires 2 lemons
KALE:

chard, baby spinach, beet greens, escarole, broccoli rabe, really any green you would sauté
SUN-DRIED TOMATOES:

use ½ cup diced tomatoes, or ½ cup chopped olives or capers