Friday, July 18, 2008

Pasta with spinach and lemon

What follows is too simple to be called a recipe, but the result is delicious anyway. The lemon zest gives this dish an ineffable zing.

1. Cook one box of pasta, minus the box. (I like penne.) You can do everything that follows as the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks.
2. Smash and chop up some garlic, as much or as little as you like. I usually use six or eight cloves.
3. Scrape the zest from one lemon. A zester makes this work easy. If you remove the zest in long strands, chop them into smaller pieces.
4. Squeeze the juice from the now-denuded lemon.
5. Lightly brown the garlic in olive oil in a pan. Add some red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
6. Add a bag of baby spinach leaves to the pan, minus the bag.
7. Marvel at the way the spinach reduces so quickly in the heat.
8. It's really amazing, isn't it?
9. Add the lemon juice and zest.
10. Drain the pasta and mix with everything else.

Serve with Parmesan or Romano cheese, or no cheese. Dry white wine goes well with this dish (on the side, in a glass).

Related post
Adventures in grain (two more pasta dishes)

comments: 4

Elaine Fine said...

It really is delicious. My husband makes the same dish! Oh yes. You are my husband. Can you make this for dinner tomorrow night?

Michael Leddy said...

Consider it done. : )

j said...

I suppose this will be the last recipe you post. ;)

The first time I roasted a turkey, I left all the innards in the plastic bags inside. You are my kind of food writer.

Michael Leddy said...

I didn't realize that this post would so quickly pull me into the kitchen. : )

We had that happen with a turkey too. Who knew!