Simple pasta dishes such as this delicious pasta with spinach are perfect for week nights when you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. It’s a vegetarian dish, but you can easily add meat of fish if you want.
Pasta with spinazie
I have this thing for pasta. I find it the ultimate easy to create dish for any day of the week. I don’t actually eat a lot of pasta as I try to limit my intake of carbs. But whenever I am in the need for something super quick I love using something like this. And if you want you could even replace the linguine for courgette pasta. That way you will have the best of both worlds.
Making the spinach sauce
When you’re starting to prepare the pasta with spinach you start by cooking the pasta. While this is cooking you prepare the sauce. This sauce is nothing like any traditional pasta sauce and the good news is that it is filled with vegetables. Always a win for me. Of course you could make this dish by simply cooking the spinach and adding it to the pasta but I love the way it clings to the pasta if you make it into a sauce.
To create the sauce you have to use a large frying pan. As you probably know spinach can be incredibly bulky so you want a large pan to be able to add the spinach. I tend to do it in batches. Wilt one batch and then add the next.
You start the sauce by first baking the onions and the garlic. Don’t put the heat too high or the garlic will burn. Once the garlic and onion are cooked you add the spinach bit by bit.
Puree with a stick blender
To make it into a sauce I place all the spinach, garlic and onion into a high measuring cup (a liter size) I add the 50 grams of parmesan cheese and some basil. A little splash of the cooking water will help to make it smooth. Puree with the stick blender until it’s nice and smooth.
As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain (keep some of that cooking liquid) and add the pasta back into the pan. Pour the spinach sauce on top and stir through. If it is a bit too dry for your liking add a bit of cooking liquid.
Serve the pasta with spinach with extra parmesan and fresh basil.
Which pasta is best for the pasta with spinach?
You can add any type of pasta you like but I love it with either spaghetti or linguine. Obviously if you prefer macaroni or penne, that is definitely an option.
Can you save the pasta?
Yes you can. I had made quite a large batch of the pasta with spinach so I ate it for two days. Reheat in a frying pan or micro wave if you have one. It will be a bit dryer if you reheat, so it is good to add a bit of extra olive oil to it.
What can I serve with the pasta with spinach?
It’s a vegetarian pasta but it is a very easy dish to add things to. You can serve it with a nice piece of salmon or add some chicken if you want.
You can find more pasta recipes here.
Pasta with spinach
Ingredients
- 1 onion slices
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 400 gr spinach
- 50 gr parmesan cheese plus extra to serve
- 300 gr linguine or spaghetti
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp pine nuts roasted
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Put on a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and reserve a bit of the cooking liquid.
- In the mean time heat a large frying pan with a bit of oil. Add the onion and bake until translucent. Add the garlic and briefly bake that too.
- Now add the spinach in stages. Once one batch is wilted add the next batch.
- Add all the spinach into a high measuring cup and add the parmesan cheese with a bit of the basil. Add a spoonful of the cooking liquid from the pasta if you want. Using a stick blender puree the spinach until smooth. Taste and add pepper and salt if needed.
- Add the pasta back into the pan and add your spinach sauce. Shake it around so all the pasta gets covered with the spinach. If it is too dry add a bit of the cooking liquid.
- Serve the pasta hot with the toasted pine nuts, extra parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
