Wednesday, October 31, 2007

spaghetti with spinach and lemon



Spinach, that wonderful vegetable that disappeared, rightfully, from the markets for a while, is back, fresh and pure. We are into some wonderful pastas that are simple to prepare, combine ingredients perfectly, and are wonderful taste treats. Here is one of those: with fresh spinach, lemon and capers.

for the sauce:

  • four tablespoons of olive oil
  • five cloves of garlic, peeled and finely diced
  • two tablespoons of capers
  • one-half teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
  • four tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • two teaspoons of grated lemon rind
  • four cups of chopped fresh spinach
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • one quarter cup freshly grated parmesan



    one pound spaghetti

In a saute pan, over medium heat, add the garlic. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add the capers and the red pepper flakes. Cook two minutes. Add the lemon juice and rind, one teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Stir and cook for another two minutes.

In five quarts of water at a raging boil, add two tablespoons of salt and the spaghetti. Cook until just short of al dente. Set aside one quarter cup of the pasta liquid. Drain.

Re-heat the sauce. Add in the spaghetti and stir. Add the chopped spinach and stir. Add the parmesan and stir. Check for salt. If too dry add some of the reserved pasta liquid. Cover and cook for one minute over medium high heat.

Serve immediately.






    1 comment:

    Janet Moga said...

    I tried this last night and we liked it. I ended up saving a bit more pasta water (about a cup) in case I needed more and I did! I probably used about 1/2-3/4 cup in total. I also added a little bit more lemon juice and capers. I think I might have cooked the sauce down too much b/c it just didn't seem enough to coat the pasta (hence the extra pasta water). Regardless, the flavor was great and I'll definitely do this one again. Really easy for a weeknight dinner!