When you want something to eat that's healthy and filling, turn to this Superfood Pasta to nourish your appetite. The amount of sauce this dish yields is more than enough for four people; you only need a few tablespoons of sauce per portion. Leftover sauce can be frozen for an even simpler meal later.
Why Are They Superfoods?
The term superfood gets applied to a variety of foods, and new ones crop up regularly. There are those, however, to which the term can be genuinely applied, including spinach and watercress.
Grown throughout the year, spinach is always easy to obtain. It can be eaten raw as salad leaves or incorporated into a pesto. Raw spinach provides more iron than cooked spinach, although it’s still a little less than Popeye would have us believe. It is also a good source of vitamins A, B and C, as well as potassium and calcium.
Watercress is another vegetable which deserves its place under the superfood umbrella. Originally grown in Europe, its popularity soon increased in other regions of the world. It is, however, a little trickier to grow your own. High in vitamins A, B2, C, D and E, watercress not only perks up the taste buds, but it also boosts your intake of vitamins while providing extra potassium, iron and calcium in your diet.
Superfood Pasta
Makes 4 main-dish servings
Ingredients:
- Coarse salt, for cooking water
- 1 pound linguine
- 5 cups salad greens, such as spinach, arugula and watercress, washed well and spun dry
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup pine nuts (optional)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more oil as needed
- 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (optional)
Directions:
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain pasta; return to saucepan, cover and keep warm.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine salad greens, garlic, pine nuts, 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (depending on your desired taste) and 3 tablespoons grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese. Blend all ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Check consistency of the mixture; if the mixture is too stiff, add 2 to 3 tablespoons more olive oil and process to combine.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of sauce per person into the saucepan with the pasta and toss well to combine.
- Season pasta with freshly ground black pepper, if desired. Divide pasta into serving bowls. Garnish with additional grated cheese, if desired. Serve immediately.
Maxine Morrey - Maxine Morrey has had articles published in a variety of national magazines, aswell as the author of a novel and a non fiction book.
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