The Kinda-Healthy Kale Pasta I Can Always Count On

Welcome to Never Fail, a weekly column where we wax poetic about the recipes that never, ever let us down.

At this point in my adult life, my body tells me, often, how it’s doing. Headache in the morning: Drink more water! Yoga struggles: You’re not 25 anymore! A perpetually sore lower back: No more cute mules for you! And after a whirlwind trip to Asia, eating my weight in Korean barbecue in Seoul and roast goose in Hong Kong, my body is telling me one thing loud and clear: Eat some vegetables!

But my brain is saying something else: I. Want. Pasta. Thick and toothsome strands made from wheat, completely unlike the thinner, chewier rice ones I ate all over Asia—and under a mound of parm, please. Also, who isn’t craving pasta all the time? Thankfully, there is a solution that pleases both my brain and my overall health: Carla Lalli Music’s spaghetti aglio e oil with lots of kale.

I am by no means a nutritionist, but if there’s about a pound and a half of kale in this pasta, then it’s just as healthy as eating a salad, right? But twirling up forkfuls of this verdant aglio e olio into my mouth is so much more enjoyable than poking at a kale salad. It’s literally lip-smacking. The spaghetti is saturated in olive oil, which pulls in the red pepper flakes, caramelized flecks of garlic, and tiny parm curls into every bite. The kale, blanched until bright green, is soft and supple, absorbing all that spicy, cheesy, olive oil-y goodness. And did I mention it’s a breeze to pull together when you’re brain is still jet-lagged and you’re craving a light dinner at 5 a.m.?

All you need to do tear up a lot of kale into large shards and boil it for a couple minutes in salted water (and later on, the pasta, too, so don’t throw it out!). Smash some garlic cloves and brown them in a good amount of olive oil, some salt, and pepper in a Dutch oven while you cook the pasta until just shy of al dente. Gingerly transfer the pasta to the Dutch oven, along with some pasta water, and toss with the kale until a beautiful, glossy sauce suddenly appears. Then, hurriedly throw the kale-strewn pasta into a bowl, microplane some parm, and sprinkle in some flaky salt, more pepper, and a bit of red pepper flakes—and slurp, slurp, slurp. This dish is the one thing I’ve looked forward to since I got back from my vacation, not so much all the soreness after trying to work out again and refusing to relinquish my beloved mules.

My body may not be happy with all of my choices, but it certainly is with this one.

Get the recipe:

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Lots of Kale

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit