Kale Pesto Rigatoni

Place a large pot of salted water on to boil for the rigatoni. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts. Peel off as many leaves as you can and add the leaves and centers to a baking sheet. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast Brussels until they are crispy and brown in spots, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Add the whole wheat rigatoni to the boiling water. Cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 9 to 11 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta. Toss rigatoni with ½ tsp olive oil and return it to the pot, off of the heat.

Zest and halve the lemon. Pick the basil leaves. Destem the Lacinato kale. Add the basil leaves, kale leaves, almonds, reserved pasta water, just 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, and the juice from half the lemon to a food processor. Season with ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and as many of the red chile flakes as you’d like depending on your affinity for heat. Blend until smooth.

Trim the romaine heart, roughly chop the leaves, and place them in a large bowl. Thinly slice the radishes. Mince the remaining clove of garlic. Add the sliced radishes, minced garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil, juice from remaining lemon half, ½ tsp lemon zest, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss romaine salad to combine.

Thinly slice the sun-dried tomatoes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and ¾ of the Brussels sprouts and to the cooked rigatoni. Add the kale pesto, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Return the pot to medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Divide the kale pesto rigatoni and romaine salad between large plates. Top pasta with remaining sun-dried tomatoes and Brussels sprouts. Mangia!