A spicy tomato and kale linguine of juicy sautéed tomatoes and kale. Customize it by adding your choice of protein or cheese!
Ah, pasta. Truly comfort food at its finest. When we went to Italy for the first time several years ago, I couldn’t get enough of the food. Everything was super fresh and full of flavor. The dishes were so simple with minimal ingredients. We came back to the U.S. spoiled! Trying to find similar dishes was difficult, especially when our Americanized version of Italian food is represented in restaurants like Olive Garden. 🙄 Not that the food there isn’t good on occasion, but full of heavy cream and loads of cheeses, it can be a little rich for an everyday meal.
When we came home from our trip, I scoured the internet for a simple pasta recipe and decided to try Ina Garten’s Spaghetti Aglio E Olio (garlic and olive oil). Over the years, it has slowly morphed into other dishes, as I now like to add a variety of veggies and flavors, like fresh tomatoes, lemon and basil.
This pasta is really just a simple “base” vegetarian dish, delicious as is, but you can also customize it to your liking. Use your favorite pasta, whether it’s gluten-free or whole wheat. It needn’t be only linguine either. If you prefer penne or spaghetti noodles, use that instead.
If you eat meat, then add in some chicken or shrimp. Sometimes I add some chicken sausage in with the garlic and sauté it with all the veggies, which adds a lot of flavor. You can also add cheese, if you eat dairy. I have a dairy sensitivity, so I can’t eat a lot of it, but my family loves shaved parmesan on top of theirs. I think some fresh mozzarella chunks would be delicious too!
I’ve found it important to season with salt and pepper throughout the cooking process. Seasoning throughout also helps your dish not to be bland and tasteless, especially if you’re not adding meat to bring in flavor. It’s a good idea to generously salt the water that you boil the pasta in too. It adds flavor to the pasta so that you don’t have to over-season the sauce later to compensate.
Cook the pasta to al dente, which is cooked but still a little firm—NOT mushy. When you drain the noodles, be sure to save a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce later. The starchy water is already seasoned and helps to make the pasta more saucy and less watery. You can also substitute some of the pasta water with a splash of cooking wine for a richer flavor.
Such a simple, yet elegant dish. A perfect way to use up some of that spring/summer produce too! As they say in Italy, buon appetito!
Spicy Tomato & Kale Linguine
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
A quick and flavorful lemon-garlic pasta full of juicy sautéed tomatoes and kale. Customize it by adding your choice of protein or cheese!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces linguine or other pasta of choice and 1 cup reserved pasta water
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice or regular/dairy-free butter
- 6 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 6 oz kale leaves, de-stemmed and roughly chopped, spinach, or other greens of choice
- 2 pints cherry/grape tomatoes, halved or chopped tomato
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, depending on how spicy you like it (optional)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup reserved pasta water, start with less and add more if needed-
- 1/4 cup (or more) good quality extra-virgin olive oil,
- juice and zest of 1 lemon, add more or less to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped (optional)
- plenty of salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional add-ins: If you eat cheese you can add grated parmesan or fresh mozzarella chunks. For protein you can add grilled chicken/shrimp or sautéed smoked chicken sausage*
Instructions
- Cook pasta of choice according to package directions until al dente. Make sure to salt the water. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for the sauce. Drain pasta and set aside until needed.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot or dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or oil over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and stir to coat. Add kale leaves and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes, salt, and a pinch of red pepper, continuing to cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta, olive oil, lemon juice, chopped basil and some of the reserved pasta water. Season with more salt and pepper, to taste, and gently mix together until well incorporated. The noodles really soak up lots of moisture, so add extra pasta water as needed.
- Remove from heat and top with lots of grated parmesan and/or protein of choice. Serves 3–4.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Meal, Pasta
- Cuisine: Italian
You May Also Enjoy These Similar Recipes:
Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta
Heirloom Tomato Pizza
Homemade Caprese Pizza
That looks amazing! Do you have a substitution suggestion for the adobo sauce? I d like to make this for our family s Father s Day picnic but much of my family can t stand the heat! ??
Do you mean the red pepper flakes? Sure, you can just omit them. The pasta isn’t spicy without the red pepper. Let me know if I can help you in any other way!
This pasta dish looks so fresh and delicious! I’ve been wanting to try something different for dinner, and I think this recipe is perfect to try! Love that you incorporated kale in it!
Aw thank you Ressa! Have a great weekend!
I love any kind of pasta and this spicy tomato and kale linguine looks delicious! I might have to meal prep this when I come back from my vacation! 🙂
Thanks for being willing to try this out Vivienne!
Oh my goodness….that looks so tasty! Your beautiful photos are making me crave pasta so bad right now! Yum!!
Thank you for the kind words Candice!
This looks delicious ! I’m sure it’s a real crowd pleaser. If only i could tolerate spicy!
Thank you, Jenn You can still enjoy it without the crushed red peppers, if you don’t like spice. 🙂 I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
I like all your photos! What camera do you use? You are right sometimes the best pasta recipe, are the ones not drenched in thick sauce, minimum meat and cheese. But kale in pasta, looks interesting – but worth trying, but should be great!
I love when pasta dishes are just clean and simple, not drowning in sauce (though sometimes, saucy pastas just hit the spot). I love your technique of using the reserved pasta water! Can’t wait to try this 🙂
Lisa / Strum Simmer Sip
Hmm?! I’ve never heard that about olive oil…I cook with it all the time! I’ll read up on it a bit more, thanks for bringing it to my attention:-) I love these photos and wish I could grab a fork and eat straight from my iPad, haha! We finally got a Fresh Market here in Fayetteville!! As I was roaming through the aisles, I thought to myself, Joscelyn would approve;-)
P.S. I want to go to Italy with you next time!
Thanks, Andele! I’m glad Fayetteville finally has a better selection for grocery shopping:) I think having quality ingredients makes the cooking experience more enjoyable!
P.S. Once you start getting free trips from your blog, we’ll totally need to plan another trip to Italy! 🙂
EVOO is totally fine to cook with at medium or low heats! It’s a monounsaturated fat, so it’s not quite as hardy as saturated fats like butter, coconut oil, or animals fats (think how those congeal at room temperatures– it’s the lack of double bonds in fatty acid structure [trainer/nutritional coach nerd moment!]). I like coconut oil for higher temp cooking but I still go EVOO for a dish that doesn’t require as much heat because those monounsaturated fats are good to incorporate 🙂 This pasta looks delicious- thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Minna! I love your “nerd moment,” haha! What you said is the other side of the argument that I read about. I like how you broke it down scientifically too..It seems your training has served you well! I do bake with olive oil at times and have been using coconut oil or butter when sautéing, just in case I have to turn up the heat. However, I do love evoo and get it on my food, even if it’s a drizzle on top before serving! 🙂
Thank you so much! You should definitely make it soon! It’s both easy and so delicious..also very filling too! 🙂
Ohhh! I’m starving and that looks so delicious! Gotta make that soon!
Thi looks so beautiful. I know I sound like a broken record, but your pictures just do and your food looks so inviting.
Yes, you are spot on not to heat extra virgin olive oil. Basically compounds become unstable at certain temperatures. The good fats then basically morph into pretty harmful carcinogens you don’t want to allow into your body 🙁
I wish celebrity chefs knew this, but then they aren’t trained chemists or nutritionist, so I can’t blame them.
Take care
K
Thanks, Kimberly! Yeah, I don’t blame the chefs either as most people from the Mediterranean swear by cooking with olive oil as well. I’ve heard both sides of the argument and I feel it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I myself don’t cook with it anymore. As always, I appreciate your feedback and for stopping by to say hi! Hope you’re having a great week!