Asparagus & Spinach Pasta with Checca Sauce

Blogging Marathon# 54: Week 1/ Day 2

Theme: Vegetarian Italian dishes

Dish: Asparagus & Spinach Pasta with Checca Sauce

Today's dish is a simple pasta with sauteed asparagus and spinach that is then mixed with a no-cook checca sauce. We had this dish at California Pizza kitchen couple of months back and I wanted to try it at home ever since.

The first time I made it, I wasn't sure if the kids would like it. But both the kids came back for seconds. This dish will be in my meal rotation now.

Checca sauce is nothing but fresh tomato sauce made with cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic and olive oil. It adds lots of flavor to the dish and since it is no-cook, it takes just few minutes to make the sauce in the food processor. Asparagus and spinach cook up in no time too, so the most time taking process for this dish is boiling water and cooking the pasta. This is a great dish to make for a weeknight dinner.

I've made this dish with both fresh and frozen spinach and both work great. Asparagus can be substituted with other veggies like green beans. Also add your favorite protein to make it a wholesome meal. I've added cooked chickpeas once and Gardein chickn the second time. Italian style tofu or simple sauteed tofu would be great options here.

Ingredients: Serves 4

Thin Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta - 8 oz. (or any other pasta of choice)

Thin Spaghetti or Angel hair pasta - 8oz. (I used whole wheat thin spaghetti)

Asparagus - 1 bundle, chopped into 1" pieces

Spinach - 9 oz. bag

Salt & Pepper - to taste
Tofu/ Chickpeas/ Gardein Chick'n or other protein - as needed (optional)

For the Checca Sauce:

Scallions - 5~6, chopped

Cherry tomatoes - 2 cups, halved

Garlic - 3 cloves, crushed

Basil - 8~10 leaves

Parmesan cheese - 3tbsp, grated

Extra virgin Olive oil - 3tbsp

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water. 
• Make the Checca sauce: Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor and pulse until the tomatoes are crushed. Make sure that the tomatoes are not completely pureed.
• Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a saute pan, add asparagus and cook on medium-high heat until they are tender and lightly charred around the edges. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2~3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the checca sauce, mix well and turn off the heat.
• Stir in the cooked pasta and mix to combine. Add reserved pasta water if the dish looks too dry.
• Serve immediately topped with the choice of protein for a complete meal.

 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 54.