This simple pasta dish is the perfect way to take advantage of the dark greens that are currently in season, says Chris Leach. You can use ordinary green kale or Russian kale – though cavolo nero would also be good.
Serves four people
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For the kale sauce:
- 400g kale
- 1 garlic clove – crushed
- 100g good olive oil
For the finished dish:
- 400g rigatoni
- 40g butter
- kale sauce
- 1 lemon
- pinch of chilli flakes
- black pepper, to taste
- grated parmesan
Method
- Wash the kale and pick the leaves from the stalks, keeping the stalks to one side.
- Put a large pot of water on to boil and season generously with salt.
- Put the garlic in a small pan with the olive oil and heat very gently until the garlic begins to soften. Carefully pick out the garlic and discard (or mash up and fold in to mayonnaise for another use!). Set aside.
- Blanch the kale stalks for 2 minutes then add all the leaves and cook until soft, around 1-2 minutes. Drain kale and blend with the garlic oil into a smooth paste. This sauce can be made a day ahead.
- Cook the pasta to your liking. When ready, drain the pasta and make sure you reserve some of the pasta water.
- In a pan, heat the butter and add the kale sauce. Toss the pasta in this sauce, adding a little pasta water if necessary. Add a squeeze of lemon and taste – you should adjust the seasoning and lemon until it tastes good to you.
- When the pasta is sauced, divide among 4 plates and sprinkle with dried chilli flakes, a few cracks of black pepper and grate some parmesan over each plate to finish.
Chris Leach is the chef and co-founder of Manteca, 49-51 Curtain Road, London EC2 (020-7033 6642; mantecarestaurant.co.uk).
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Codeword: December 13, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Week Recommends Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
‘Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right’ by Laura K. Field and ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare’ by Daniel SwiftFeature An insider’s POV on the GOP and the untold story of Shakespeare’s first theater
-
Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secretsfeature Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, through Feb. 22
-
Homes with great fireplacesFeature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Washington and two-sided Parisian fireplace in Florida
-
Film reviews: ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Zootopia 2’Feature A Brazilian man living in a brutal era seeks answers and survival and Judy and Nick fight again for animal justice
