Recipe: Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes

I tend to talk about kale and spinach the way that some people talk about their first born children.  With a twinkle in my eye and a warm squishy feeling in my heart.



It makes The.Boy. nervous when I do this. 

Primarily because, well. Would you really want to be dating someone who has absolutely no qualms about inhaling her babies with the appetite of a ravenous vulture? 

Yeah, doesn't bode well.



But I think it's also that he's come to realize that if I'm waxing poetic about the virtues of leafy greens, it probably means that I have at least twelve bunches of them in my fridge. 

And if that's the case... 

...then you know what I'll be force feeding him we'll be having for dinner.



The good news is, though, that even though he'll make an "ewww kale!" face whenever I so much as mention the brassica, let alone place a big bowl of it in front of him and tell him to dig in. 

He'll eat it without a single complaint.

And then he'll pounce on the leftovers the next day for lunch.

As it turns out, he actually doesn't care what's in his food so long as it tastes good. 

Not exactly my eating mentality, but since I happen to care so exquisitely about what goes into every bite that I ingest that it has to taste good...it works.




And who knows...soon I may have him swaddling bunches of kale and containers of spinach before putting them in the fridge also.

(Because that helps keep them fresher for longer.  Not for, you know...future practice or anything.  Obviously.)

But for now...I'll just be grateful that he dove into this big bowl of green with a fervor that rivaled my own.  And rightfully so, because it was damn delicious.  A spinach avocado pesto that tastes creamy and buttery even though there is not a hint of either in it, offset by the deeply sweet and slightly tangy flavor of roasted cherry tomatoes...

...what more could you ask for in a gorgeously verdant plate of pasta?

Sigh.  That baby spinach really did grow up so fast, didn't it?



Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 4, adapted from Pink Parsley and Perry's Plate

Ingredients

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• pinch of sugar
• 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb baby spinach
• 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup basil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.  Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and a pinch of sugar.  Put on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing once midway through.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking water for the sauce.
3. As the pasta cooks, saute the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet until softened, 5-6 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook about 30 seconds more, or until fragrant.  Add in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, waiting until the previous bunch has started to wilt before adding the second.
4. Remove from heat and stir the Greek yogurt and avocado into the pan.  Add 2-3 tbsp of the reserved pasta water and, using an immersion blender (or a food processor), puree the mixture until smooth, adding more pasta water as needed to give it a sauce-like consistency.
5. Stir in the basil and parmesan.  Add the noodles to the sauce, tossing well to coat.  Serve the noodles topped with a spoonful of the roasted tomatoes.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights which is being hosted this week by Simona of Briciole.