Yesterday, January 8, was Susan’s birthday.
I gave her a choice of four different meals for dinner: pasta and spinach, meatballs and rice, meatloaf, or hamburgers. She chose pasta.
The recipe is based on one I found online called “5 Ingredient Spinach Parmesan Pasta.”
I call this recipe “Pasta alla Louise.” Why Louise? Because that is Susan’s middle name. And Pasta alla Louise sounds more pasta-poetic than Pasta alla Susan!
Ingredients:
- 8 oz uncooked pasta (I used Rienzi Glutten-free Penne Rigate)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil (My addition)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (I didn’t used garlic. See Note below.)
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced (My addition)
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (My addition)
- 5-6 cups packed baby spinach
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup chicken stock (My addition)
- Note: 3-4 roasted tomatoes (My addition. I roasted tomatoes this past summer in olive oil, lots of garlic, rosemary, thyme and oregano. I then bagged them and froze, 3-4 per bag. I have about 30 bags in the freezer!)
Directions:
- Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Set pasta aside.
- Using a large pan or wok, melt the butter over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the red pepper flakes and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in the roasted tomatoes, pasta and spinach. Gently toss and cook until spinach leaves are wilted. Add in some of the reserved pasta water and chicken stock. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and toss until combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Pour pasta into a large bowl. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Here is a photo of it cooking in my All-Clad pan:
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