Creamy Spinach Pasta — Easy Step-by-Step Recipe with Photos

Name: Creamy Spinach Pasta — Easy Step-by-Step Recipe with Photos
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Italian cuisine
Ingredients: Pasta 250 g; Spinach (fresh) 200 g; Butter 30-40 g; Cream or milk 100 ml; Salt, nutmeg, Mediterranean herbs (basil, oregano, savory, etc.) to taste

Spinach pasta is a wonderful combination of fresh green spinach, a creamy sauce and good Italian pasta — a superb dish for a proper, satisfying meal.

Spinach is low in calories, yet it is packed with essential vitamins and minerals. And in protein content it is second only to legumes.

For some reason, the word spinach always reminds me of a cartoon hero from across the ocean — Popeye the Sailor. In any tight spot, the sailor would gulp down a can of spinach and gain superhuman strength. A kind of doping, really. I'm sure this spinach pasta will fill you up and give you strength just as well.

What we usually call spinach is actually garden spinach — one of the varieties of a herbaceous plant from the amaranth family. Who would have thought that common orache, a weed, is spinach's closest relative? I remember there were attempts to get people to eat amaranth as a food plant. Remember those beautiful tall dark-burgundy plants in flower beds? They even say the people of ancient America successfully grew amaranth for its seeds, which they used to bake bread.

Spinach, on the other hand, has always been on our table, fresh or cooked: green soups, salads, sauces for fish, and pasta with spinach.

Ingredients

2 servings

Pasta 250 g
Spinach (fresh) 200 g
Butter 30-40 g
Cream or milk 100 ml
Salt, nutmeg, Mediterranean herbs (basil, oregano, savory, etc.) to taste

Step-by-step recipe

Pasta tastes best when it is evenly coated with a sauce that clings to it well. You can use any pasta shape, but short pasta with a fairly complex or ridged surface is preferable. Penne or fusilli work great.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water (5–7 g of salt per 1 l of water). The cooking time is given on the package.
It's worth soaking the spinach in cold water in advance, for at least 2–3 hours, so the leaves become firm. Simmer the spinach leaves gently for 1–2 minutes, rinse with cold water and squeeze lightly.
Cut the cooked spinach into strips. Put the spinach in a blender, add 1/2 cup of milk or cream and blend until smooth.
Melt a knob of butter in a hot skillet.
Add a scant teaspoon of wheat flour to the melted butter and fry it for 2–3 minutes, stirring briskly so no lumps form. Just like making béchamel sauce.
Pour the spinach and cream mixture into the skillet. Season lightly with salt, add dried Mediterranean herbs and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Simmer the spinach uncovered for 6–7 minutes over medium heat, stirring. The sauce should thicken slightly.
The sauce should be as thick as heavy sour cream, so the dish doesn't turn out runny like soup.
Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and let the water run off. Transfer it to a deep bowl and toss with the spinach sauce. Mix thoroughly — everything should be evenly coated with sauce.
Serve the dish right away, while it's still hot.
If you like, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and add a little pepper — but just a little.