I have always been a big lover of vegetables, including the green ones, even as a child. However, I have not been able to get into the green juices that are all the rage these days, and prefer to stick to taking in my greens the good old fashion way: chewing them. Earlier this week, I had one of my cravings for greens, and had some time to spare, so I wandered through the gigantic grocery stores that exist in the south, playing on my Cooking Light app along the way, and ended up creating a pasta dish with plenty of greens and fresh herbs (grown by yours truly), and some prosciutto for that extra bang.
Lean, Cream and Green Pasta
Recipe inspired by Cooking Light, but invented by yours truly
Makes 6 servings
Nutrition: 387 calories; 9 grams fat; 54 grams carbs; 18 grams protein
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces spinach fettuccine
- 1 bunch broccolini
- 1 bunch fresh spinach
- 4 green onion pencils
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3/4 cup fat free ricotta cheese
- 4 tablespoons shredded pecorino-romano cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- 4 ounces prosciutto (FYI: if you happen to have the person at the deli tell you “I’m bad at math and science” when you ask for 4 ounces, it’s easily converted to 0.25 pounds. Great American school systems strike again….sorry for the tangent)
Step 1: Roughly chop spinach and green onions. Finely chop thyme, dill, and rosemary.
Step 2: Start cooking pasta and steam broccolini. Saute garlic, two tablespoons olive oil, and one teaspoon of salt and pepper for about four minutes then add herbs and stir constantly for about two to three minutes to meld together flavors. Add spinach and cover with a lid, stirring occasionally. Once spinach has wilted, remove from heat and keep warm.
Step 3: As your pasta continues to cook, place ricotta cheese and pecorino-romano cheese in a food processor. Chop the prosciutto.
Prosciutto: this was so hard for me and the little scavenger, er Annabelle, to resist eating |
Step 4: Once your pasta has finished cooking, put 3/4 cup of the pasta water into the food processor with the two cheeses, and blend until smooth.
Step 5: Toss sauce into pasta and mix in spinach and herb mixture. Separate out six servings of pasta and top each with prosciutto and a few broccolinis.
Ta Da! (please note the almost finished Abita Pecan beer to get in the spirit of fall) |
This dish was easy to make (chopping, boiling, and food processing) and provides a nutrient rich dinner, and tricks non-green eaters (ahem Jason) into eating greens!
xoxo
*K