Pasta with Spinach & Pine Nuts

Am getting ready for the "Fit & Fabulous Friday", so this is yet another healthy Pasta dish coming up. I love all kinds and shapes of Pasta. I also do love stocking up different pastas in my so called Pantry (cupboard). When I get bored, I go to the pasta cupboard and run my hands through it thinking which shape should I use for today's dinner? ;) (yeah, the pasta obsessed me!!)

I made this dish in the morning for Arun's Lunchbox menu to take it to his office. This recipe is inspired by Nigella Lawson's "Curly Pasta with Feta, Spinach & Pine Nuts". Instead of the curly pasta, I have used "Dischi Volanti" & I have avoided the Feta cheese as well as the "allspice" seasoning. Why? for the simple reason that I didn't have those. :) I loved this dish & and am sure you too will like it as the Spinach does make the difference here. So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 250 g dischi volanti pasta (or any kind /shape of pasta)
• 250 g fresh / frozen spinach (if frozen, thaw it before using it. If fresh, roughly chop it)
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 50 g pine nuts (can use toasted almonds)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper to season

Method:

1. Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions. Add salt & a bit of oil in the boiling water while cooking pasta. Before straining, keep aside half cup of pasta water aside for future use. Strain & keep the pasta aside.
2. Toast the pine nuts for 3-4 minutes or until they become golden, in a hot dry frying pan. Keep aside.
3. Heat a pan & pour the 1 tbsp of olive oil & put the chopped garlic to it. You can also use garlic infused oil instead of putting garlic & oil separately.
4. Add the chopped onion to it & saute well until it becomes light brown. Now add the chopped spinach to it. Season it with some salt & a generous seasoning of pepper (we are using pepper instead of Nigella's allspice). Also add the previously kept pasta water to it. Cook well. It will take 4-5 minutes for the spinach to cook.
5. If you think that the spinach has cooked, add in the cooked pasta & mix well. Switch off the heat. Add in the toasted pine nuts, drizzle the remaining olive oil & mix in the parmesan cheese. If you want, add some more salt & pepper.

Linking this recipe to ameessavourydish.blogspot.com where she is hosting a link party "Fit & Fabulous Fridays".

I have also linked this page to an ongoing event "Healthy Snacks" hosted by http://deepthidigvijay.blogspot.com.