Fusilli Alla Crazy Bastard

This vibrant pasta, tossed with beet greens and creamy goat cheese, is an ode to Charles Barsotti’s 1994 New Yorker cartoon of a rigatoni noodle on the phone to a friend, exclaiming, “Fusilli, you crazy bastard!” Tarry Lodge chef Andy Nusser says, “Mario [Batali] and I saw the cartoon at the same time. It became the punch line to every joke.” Food and Wine, January 2009.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup walnut halves
• 1  pint cherry tomatoes
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  teaspoon olive oil
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1  lb  fusilli
• 3  garlic cloves, sliced
• 1⁄2 lb  beet leaf, rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 1  pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1⁄2 lb  soft fresh goat cheese, thickly sliced
• 1⁄4 cup  freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the walnuts for 7 minutes, until lightly browned; let cool slightly. 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. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, 2 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes, beet greens and crushed red pepper and cook, crushing the tomatoes slightly, until the greens are just wilted, 3 minutes.
4. Drain the fusilli, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta, the reserved cooking water and the sliced goat cheese to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, tossing to coat the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pasta to a bowl, garnish with the chopped toasted walnuts, top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately.