Creamy Garlic Pasta With Greens

A one-pot weeknight pasta: spaghetti and wilted greens get a generous spoonful of quick lemon-garlic aioli stirred up from store-bought mayonnaise. Use whatever cooking greens you bring home from the market, like kale, chard, spinach or collards.

Serves 4 · 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• Salt and black pepper
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 1 lemon
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 to 10 ounces baby or chopped cooking greens, such as kale, chard, spinach or collards
• Crushed red pepper (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente, following the package timing. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
2. While the pasta cooks, put the mayonnaise in a bowl. Grate in the lemon zest, then squeeze in the juice of half the lemon and save the other half for another use. Grate in the garlic, add the olive oil and whisk until smooth.
3. Put the greens in the empty, still-hot pot, pour in ½ cup of the pasta water and toss with tongs until they just wilt.
4. Add the drained pasta, season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper if you like, and toss again. Add the rest of the pasta water if you want a looser sauce.
5. Divide among bowls and top each with a big dollop of aioli and more black pepper. Swirl the aioli through as you eat.

Tips

• Extra aioli keeps in the fridge through the week.

Adapted from NYT Cooking.