The Recipe: Pasta Master!
Pasta is one of those key dishes that most feel the most comfortable with. Having said that it is key to have mastered a few of the trillion ways to make the dish so that when you are hungry and feel like making something quick you are not stuck with the generic ‘Tomato Sauce’ – “Neapolitan”.
Here is a simple recipe courtesy of Chef Giada De Laurentiis.
Penne with Spinach Sauce
- Total Time: 27 min
- Prep: 15 min
- Cook: 12 min
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.
Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.
Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.
Per serving: Calories: 326; Total Fat: 5 grams; Saturated Fat: 3 grams; Protein:15 grams; Total carbohydrates: 61 grams; Sugar: 0 grams; Fiber: 8 grams; Cholesterol: 11 milligrams; Sodium: 367 milligrams
