Pasta With Spinach And Chunky Tomato Sauce

It does take some time (and a few pots) to put this together, but you’ll be happy you did. This is not your typical pasta dish with lots of cream and shredded cheese. There’s none of either of them here! It’s delicious, filling, and low fat. Go for it! Recipe by Brynie Greisman.

Directions

For the Sauce and Pasta

1. In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil for the tomato sauce over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for three to four minutes. Add garlic, and continue cooking an additional minute or two.

2. Add the tomatoes and sugar. Stir in the water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer partially covered for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Meanwhile cook and drain the pasta in a large pot and set aside.

Tips:

If you’re short on time, you can sub store-bought marinara sauce for the chunky tomato sauce. Taste will be somewhat compromised, but been there, done that (although not in this dish), so I understand if you have to!

Prepare the Spinach Mixture and Serve

1. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute or until fragrant. (Do not overcook and let brown because it will add a bitter taste to the dish.)

2. Add the spinach and cook until it’s wilted.

3. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and stir together. Remove from heat. Cool slightly, and drain if necessary. Blend with a hand blender.

4. In a separate bowl, blend the cottage cheese. Add the feta cheese, leaving aside a generous handful or two for garnishing.

5. Add the spinach mixture and combine together. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

6. Toss the spaghetti together with the spinach-cheese mixture. Top each portion with some chunky tomato sauce. Garnish with shredded feta cheese if desired, and some dried parsley.

Tips:

To save on cleanup time, you can also make the spinach mixture first, rinse the pot, and make the tomato sauce next.

Variations:

If you like a lot of cheese in your spinach mixture, blend 2 cups of cottage cheese, instead of one. Up the seasoning a bit. You can also sub ricotta cheese if desired. Personally I love ricotta cheese and it imparts unique flavor to this dish.