Easy Weeknight Sweet Pea Spinach Pasta
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Don’t judge a pasta by its color!! Yes, this pasta dish is sure to turn heads for it’s bright green sauce but after one bite, it’s bold flavor will have you coming back for seconds! Twisty pasta noodles tossed in creamy and creamy sweet pea and spinach sauce makes a delicious and fun weeknight meal.
It’s always good to have a cozy pasta meal on hand. This week we were looking to change up our typical red sauce pasta and experimented with this creamy green sauce. And it hit the spot!! It such a cozy dish perfect for making for a date night in or for a dinner with the girls!
Easy Weeknight Sweet Pea Spinach Pasta
What you'll need:
Direction Snapshot:
Boil water for cooking veggies and making pasta. The water can take a little bit of time to boil, so start by boiling some water first. In one pot, you will cook peas and blanch the spinach. And in second pot, you will cook your pasta until al dente.
Sauté onions, garlic and feta cheese. While water is heating up, throw chopped onions and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Onions should be cooked until they are soft, garlic is fragrant, and feta is melted and creamy
Blend pasta sauce in high powered blender. Blend everything in a high powered blender.
Cook pasta and strain. Once your pasta is al dente, strain to remove pasta water.
Toss pasta sauce in pasta. Gently toss pasta in the pasta sauce to evenly coat before serving and enjoying.
More cozy pasta dishes!!
How to cook al dente pasta
Al dente = the perfect balance between crunch and crumbly!
Follow package instructions. It is important to pay attention to the package instructions, because each noodle type can have a different cook time.
Test the pasta as you go. Sample the pasta as you cook to see how well don’t the pasta is. You want to make sure the pasta is still firm in the center but not crunchy. If it is crunchy, cook for a bit longer and test again.
How does the pasta look and feel? Your pasta should be chewy, not crunchy or crumbly. When you bite into the pasta, there shouldn’t be a white center.
What is the best high-powered blender for cooking?
High powered blenders are very versatile tools in the kitchen. They aren’t just great for making smoothies, they are also amazing for making sauces, making nut butters and even quickly blending some batters.
A high powered blender is one of the top 3 kitchen appliances we always have to have in our kitchen.
So what are the best high-powered blenders? We have used the two blenders highlighted below for years and love both of them equally.
They do come at different price points, but here are our opinions on each one. Depending on what you will be using it for and how often, can help you determine which blender is best for your cooking needs.
NutriBullet
Cost: $
Pros: light weight, super portable (we have taken this on a lot of road trips), blends within seconds, good for single serving or small batch recipes.
Cons: Only one speed setting. We have gone through about 3 of these within the last 10 years. In our defense, we use this blender A LOT (almost on a daily basis) and the only issues we had were wear and tear. But we will say, after each blender has worn out, we immediately order another.
Vitamix Blender
Cost $$$
Pros: You can make anything from soups to ice cream, very durable, has different speed settings, great for making larger portions.
Cons: It is a heavier and bulkier item, making it hard to hide under the counter. If you’re low on counter space, a smaller blender may be the better option.
Sweet Pea Spinach Pasta
Twisty pasta noodles tossed in creamy and creamy sweet pea and spinach sauce
Ingredients
16 oz casarecce pasta
2 c green peas
1/2 block feta
2 cups spinach
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 lemon, juiced
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Start by boiling some water in a couple larger pots over high heat. Bring both pots to a boil. In one pot, cook green peas and spinach.
- Start by cooking and blanching the spinach. Add spinach to the hot water for about 1 minute until it wilts. Immediately remove with stainer and toss in a bowl filled with ice water to cool. Add the spinach to your blender.
- In the same pot of boiling water, add your sweet peas. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until peas start floating to the top. Remove with strainer and place in blender with the spinach.
- In the second pot of boiling water, add your pasta noodles and cook according to the directions. Taste test your pasta for doneness. Once pasta is al dente, strain out water and set aside.
- Sauté onions, garlic in skillet over medium heat until soft. Cube feta cheese and melt and stir into onions until creamy. Pour this mixture into blender.
- Add remaining green sauce ingredients to the blender – basil, lemon juice, olive oil. Blend on high until very very creamy.
- Pour green sauce over pasta, tossing to coat. Top with extra drizzle of olive oil, red pepper flakes, pepper.
