pasta in a spinach & basil puree with toasted walnuts
I was in my kitchen the other day pondering what to make for dinner. My fridge was a bit low in terms produce. I had some spinach on its last legs and some mushrooms. With no meat thawed, I needed something as a protein source. After rummaging through the pantry, I walked away with walnuts, a box of radiatori, and an idea simmering in my brain.
Radiatori is a great pasta for when you want to have a high sauce to pasta ratio. Its many curves and ridges hold onto more sauce than other pasta like macaroni. This was perfect for me as I wanted a good helping of vegetables through my sauce.
In the mood for something a step up from just pasta with some veggies sauteed and tossed together, I worked on creating a creamy puree for my sauce. While my pasta was cooking, I sauteed in olive oil, butter, mushrooms, garlic, together until the mushrooms softened, added milk, seasonings, & spinach to simmer, then stirred in cream cheese to increase the creamy consistency. To finish the sauce, I puréed in my blender until nice and smooth.
If you are looking at the ingredients list, you may notice that an anchovy fillet is listed. Don’t be scared that this pasta will taste fishy though. The low quantity here just acts as an enhancement to the savory taste of this dish. If you are vegetarian or simply don’t have anchovies on hand, you can omit this. I do recommend though, having a jar on hand as a fridge staple. Anchovies are an excellent flavor booster in a variety of dishes.
To contrast the smooth, creamy sauce, and to add protein to the dish, I added walnuts. Before adding them to the dish, I toasted the walnuts on the stove to enhance their nutty flavor. To toast, all I did was heat the chopped walnuts on medium heat in a small frying pan, stirring frequently until the walnuts began to darken slightly in color.
If you time this right, your puree will be done quite near to when your pasta is ready. If not, when your pasta is done, after draining it, add a bit of olive oil so that the pasta doesn’t stick together before you toss it in the sauce.
The final assembly of the dish is easy. Toss the pasta in the puree to coat, dish up the pasta, and sprinkle the walnuts on top generously along with shredded parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
– The Recipe –
Radiatori Verde
prep time: 5 min
total time: 30 min
makes: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb radiatori pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 c roughly chopped mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 c milk
- 1 anchovy filet finely diced
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tsp basil paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cup fresh spinach
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 c roughly chopped walnuts
- shredded parmesan for garnish
Directions
- In a large pot heat water on the stove for boiling pasta (be sure to salt the water).
- Once the water boils, cook the radiatori pasta according to package instructions.
- While the water is heating and the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Begin by heating on medium heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until soft -3-4 minutes.
- Add the milk, anchovy, nutmeg, basil, and salt and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted.
- Turn heat to low and add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a blender.
- Puree on high for 1-2 minutes until the consistency is smooth.
- Toss the puree with the drained pasta until well coated.
- In a small frying pan, on medium heat, toast the walnuts stirring frequently until they begin to brown (approximately 3-4 minutes).
- Dish the pasta onto plates, sprinkle generously with the walnuts and garnish the dish with parmesan if desired.
Apricity 