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simple pasta with greens

Simple Pasta With Greens (9 variations)

Andreea Fegan, www.LittleBitesOfJoy.com
WHEN OPTING FOR SIMPLE MEALS DURING A BUSY SEASON, NOTHING IS MORE SIMPLE THAN HEARTY AND FILLING SIMPLE PASTA WITH GREENS.
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Ingredients
  

Protein

  • 6 oz freshly cooked (hot) legume-based pasta (I love chickpea pasta, black bean pasta, etc.)

Greens

  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe, or your veggie of choice, cut into 1 inch pieces. Note: After washing the greens, just shake them dry. You want a little bit of the water on the greens to add to the cooking process so you steam them just a bit.

Fat

  • 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
  • .25 oz pine nuts

Flavorings

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt & pepper
  • chili flakes

Instructions
 

  • First, make the greens. In a skillet or cast iron pan, heat a quick spray of oil and add the garlic and a pinch of salt. Saute just a minute until it turns fragrant, but be careful not to burn it. Add the wet greens, lower the heat, cover, and steam a few minutes until wilted. Set aside.
  • Next, toast the pine nuts. Heat up a skillet, and make sure it’s very dry (no oil or water). Add the pine nuts and toast them, shaking the pan as you go, for about 3 minutes or so. Keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t burn. You want a nice tan color to them and they should be fragrant. Take them out of the pan so they don’t continue to cook and set aside.
  • Lastly, let’s assemble the dish. Combine the hot pasta with the coconut oil (which will melt when introduced to the heat from the pasta). Season with salt and pepper. Add in your desired amount of greens, and top with the pine nuts. Dress with chili flakes and enjoy!

Notes

For Variations, try the following: 
  1. Curly kale leaves, torn into bite sized pieces
  2. Lacinato kale, torn off the stem and roughly cut into 1-inch pieces. Feel free to also add some sun-dried tomatoes for a kick.
  3. Spinach (a lot of it, since it cooks down)
  4. Arugula in this recipe is amazing. It just wilts down super fast and you need a large amount.
  5. Swiss chard, cut into 1-inch pieces (I would just add a little grated lemon zest to combat the bitterness)
  6. Dandelion greens (plus lemon, read above)
  7. Baby Bok Choy (simply remove the pine nuts and coconut oil, and add a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds)
  8. Escarole (which is a heartier green and needs to be sautéed more in advanced, but seriously hearty and delicious)
  9. For this recipe, I used broccoli rabe. SO delicious!