Friday, June 19, 2009

Recipe--Tomato Spinach Feta Pasta

I have a friend named Suzanne. Suzanne is my friend for many reasons: she's smart as a whip, we have the same tastes in clothes and music, and she utters phrases like "I'll cut a bitch," and "Bitch, be for real" with great frequency. But most of all, she's a great cook.

When she gave me this recipe, it cemented our friendship, and I vowed to never let her go. There's no good name for this, but it takes about 15 minutes to make, refrigerates well, is super healthy as long as you don't overdo it with the pasta (use whole grain, or at least whole wheat), and cleanup's a snap (only 2 pans, nothing sticky or burned).

You'll need (for 1 lunch or 2 sides):

  • Olive Oil (enough to saute garlic)
  • 1/2-1 tsp minced garlic (if you're too cool for the stuff in the jar, 1-2 cloves, minced)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 Roma tomato, chopped OR a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ~1 cup baby spinach (more if you really, really like spinach)
  • 4 oz. whole grain pasta
  • a couple of ounces of feta cheese, crumbled (I use approx. 2 oz because I love the feta)
  • Some upbeat jazz music; flamenco will work nicely, too.
  1. Put your water on to boil. Don't wait to do this or the timing won't come out magically.
  2. In olive oil, saute your garlic.
  3. When garlic is golden brown, throw in tomatoes. Let sit just a minute or so.
  4. Add in chicken broth. Let it cook down for a few minutes. Your water should be boiling now, so go ahead and throw in your pasta.
  5. When the pasta is almost ready (your tomatoes should be soft, but not mushy); add in spinach, small handfuls at a time.
  6. Stir constantly. The aim here is to let the spinach wilt, but just a little.
  7. Drain pasta; toss with spinach/tomato mixture (you may also want to drain the broth).
  8. Sprinkle with feta; serve. This is great both hot and cold, and it's totally good the next day (but not the third...not that it will make it to the third day).
See? Delicious.

2 comments:

Sara said...

Looks yummy. I'll give it a shot

Tiffany said...

I make this once a week.

Peace, Love and Chocolate,
Tiffany