Spinach and Pine Nut Rotini

My family has had the flu this week so I haven’t had a chance to plan menus, make grocery lists, or go shopping.  So tonight was one of those times when I perused the refrigerator and the pantry looking for something to make.   There was a bag of baby spinach in the refrigerator, so I decided to toss that together with some ingredients I always have on hand: pasta, garlic, olive oil, canned tomatoes, and pine nuts (I keep a Costco-sized bag of them in my freezer).  The end result was quite delicious!  I’ll definitely be adding this combination to my recipe box.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb whole wheat rotini
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes*
• 1 bag fresh baby spinach
• 1/4-1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted**
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Boil pasta according to package directions.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add chopped garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the tomatoes and their juices, and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add cooked pasta and stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss in fresh baby spinach and let sit over low heat until spinach begins to wilt.  It will seem like a lot of spinach at first but it will shrink down a lot!  Add toasted pine nuts and serve immediately.  Keep extra virgin olive oil on the table for drizzling over each individual serving for a nice touch!

* If you cannot find petite diced tomatoes, then drain the juices from regular stewed or diced tomatoes directly into the skillet, then transfer tomatoes to a cutting board and chop before adding to the dish.

**To toast raw pine nuts, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and put directly under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.  Watch these closely or they will burn!

Spaghetti Sauce

My family eats a LOT of spaghetti – it’s nutritious, it’s easy, and the kids love it. I have to admit, spaghetti is usually one of our “hurry-up” meals, so I tend to use a store bought jar of spaghetti sauce 99% of the time! However, we just got back from a trip to visit my grandparents, and they sent us home with a big box of delicious home-grown tomatoes, fresh-picked from their garden! So tonight our family was in for a treat — homemade spaghetti sauce.

Here’s a good, basic spaghetti sauce recipe:

Ingredients:

• 6-8 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped*
• 1 medium onion (or 2 small), finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tsp dried parsley**
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp natural sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-based pot. Add onions and garlic, and sautee over medium heat until tender. Add water, tomatoes, tomato paste, dried herbs, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix well and bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes (longer is fine).

Uncover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until sauce has reduced to the desired consistency. Spoon over a pile of whole wheat spaghetti*** and enjoy!

* To peel tomatoes easily, make a small criss cross mark on each tomato with a sharp knife. Bring a pot of water to a boil and dunk each tomato into the water for about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to a collander and rinse with cold water. When tomatoes are cool enough to handle, you should be able to peel the skin right off!

**If you have fresh herbs on hand, by all means use them! You’ll need about 3 times the amount of fresh herbs as dry, and rather than adding them at the beginning, add them toward the end of the cooking time so that they retain their wonderful flavor!

***If you haven’t yet discovered whole wheat pasta, I really recommend it.  Whole grain pasta contains more fiber, protein, folic acid, and b-vitamins than white flour pasta.  In fact, a serving of whole wheat pasta has as much protein as a serving of almonds or peanut butter (7 grams)!  I get mine from Trader Joe’s, as it only costs about $1/pound for organic, whole-wheat pasta, and they carry most shapes — spaghetti, fettuccine, rotini, and penne. You can also find whole wheat pasta at most major supermarkets, though they may be more expensive.  The texture of whole wheat pasta takes a bit of getting used to, but after eating it for several years now, I actually prefer it to the white flour version!