Cook's Hideout: Pasta in Spinach sauce

June 30, 2009

Pasta in Spinach sauce

I love adding nuts to my gravies, especially almonds and cashews. I think they totally transform a dish from plain & boring to creamy & delicious. For example, would you prefer to have “Pasta in Spinach sauce” (oh.. blah) or “Pasta in Creamy Spinach-Almond sauce” (oh.. yay.. yummy). I chose the second one and I have to tell you, I was licking every utensil that came in touch with that sauce, it was sooo good.


Recipe is inspired from Indira’s Spinach-Basil pasta.
Ingredients:
For the Spinach Sauce:
Onion – ½ cup, chopped
Spinach – 2 cups, chopped
Basil – 1 cup, chopped
Almonds – 1 cup, dry roasted
Garlic – 2 cloves
Tomatoes – 2 medium, chopped

For Pasta:
Whole wheat Penne – 1 lb.
Broccoli – 2 cups, chopped into florets
Chick peas – 2 cups
Onion – ½ cup, chopped
Salt, Pepper & Red Pepper flakes – to taste

Method:
  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve pasta cooking water for later use.
  • Dry roast almonds in a skillet. Remove and keep aside.
  • Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a large skillet; add onions and garlic; sauté on medium flame until lightly browned around edges, about 8-10 minutes. Add tomatoes; cover and cook till they turn into mush, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and basil; cook till wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper & red pepper flakes. Blend spinach mixture with the almonds into a smooth paste.
  • Heat 1tbsp olive oil in the same skillet, add onions and sauté till slightly browned. Add broccoli & chickpeas; cover and cook till tender. Add the spinach puree and ½-1 cup of pasta cooking water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer till it reaches desired consistency.

Serve over pasta (you can mix the sauce with pasta, but I prefer serving them separate, as you can add as much or as little sauce as you want. I like mine with a lot of sauce and pasta tends to soak up all the sauce when mixed early).

This dish goes to Cooking for Kids-Leafy Greens event. I'll be posting the round up at the end of this week, so send them in by Friday, the latest.









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13 comments:

  1. Yummy!! Looks like a cooked version of pesto. Awesome one! :)

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  2. lovely pasta..looks absolutely perfect..loved the extra additions...

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  3. Wat a healthy and prefect dish for kids!

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  4. hi pavani,
    healthy option to have pasta with spinach, addition of basil seems interesting. looks damn tempting.

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  5. Oh i could eat the bowl right away, loved the sauce! nuts do give that rich and creamy kick!

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  6. Hi. I have got introduced to ur blog today. You have got an interesting spread of recipes. As you have mentioned in ur profile that u have grown up watching cookery shows , so do I . I just love ,infact as a child when I used to cook i tried imitating sanjeev kapoor watching them and in recent days I love watching Nigella.Do find to drop by.

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  7. Healthy and perfect dish for kids...

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  8. Wow looks so good! Definitely kids favourite!

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  9. This is absolutely yummy.. The pics grabbed my attention and now teases my tongue.. Lovely dish.

    You make things more interesting with the intro above the dish. :)

    First time to your blog I guess and Its really good that I visited. Should be here often from now. Keep it going.

    Take a look at my blogs when you find time.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I visited your site sometime back and then forgot the link and kept searching for it. This time I have saved it, will not miss out your posts.
    Would love to hear from you , do drop into my space.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 女性向け風俗サイトで出張デリバリーホストをしてみませんか?時給2万円の高額アルバイトです。無料登録をしてあとは女性からの呼び出しを待つだけなので、お試し登録も歓迎です。興味をもたれた方は今すぐどうぞ。

    ReplyDelete
  12. 家出した少女たちは今晩泊る所がなく、家出掲示板で遊び相手を探しているようです。ご飯をおごってあげたり、家に泊めてあげるだけで彼女たちは体でお礼をしてくれる娘が多いようです

    ReplyDelete
  13. 最近いい事ない人集合!話聞いて欲しいって時ないですか?やけに寂しいんですよね。私も聞くので私のも聞いてください。メアド乗せておくのでメールから始めましょうfull-of-hope@docomo.ne.jp

    ReplyDelete

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