Recipe

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• 1/2 cup pecans, broken
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt , to taste
• black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 lb fusilli
• 5 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/2 lb kale, rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 1 pinch red pepper, crushed
• 1/2 lb goat cheese, soft, thickly sliced
• 1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated

• 1 Preheat the oven to 350°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the pecans for 5 minutes, until lightly browned; let cool slightly. Keep an eye & nose on them so they don't burn. Coarsely chop and transfer to a bowl.
• 2 Raise the oven temperature to 450°. On the rimmed baking sheet, toss the cherry tomatoes with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for about 10 minutes, until browned in spots.
• 3 In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the fusilli.
• 4 Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until just barely golden, 2 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes, kale and crushed red pepper and cook, crushing the tomatoes slightly, until the greens are just wilted, about 5 minutes.
• 5 Drain the fusilli, using the cooking water to warm the serving bowl & reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
• 6 Add the pasta, the reserved cooking water and the sliced goat cheese to the skillet with the kale & maters and cook over moderate heat, tossing to coat the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pasta to the drained warmed serving bowl, garnish with the chopped toasted walnuts, top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately.