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.