SUPER GREEN SPAGHETTI
Serves: 4-6
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into pats
1 head garlic, halved widthwise
5 ounces baby spinach
1 package spaghetti
Salt and pepper
Pecorino Romano cheese, for serving
Special equipment: aluminum foil
Preheat the oven to 375. Lay the pieces of butter in a single layer on the bottom of a small baking dish. Season with ½ teaspoon salt. Slice the garlic head in half horizontally and place it cut sides down, on the butter. Wrap the entire dish tightly in foil and bake for 40-55 minutes, until the garlic is completely soft and a paring knife poked in meets no resistance. My oven runs cool, so mine took a full 55 minutes. Start checking at the 40 minute mark, you don’t want the garlic to scorch if your oven runs warmer. Carefully remove the foil and use tongs to squeeze the cloves of garlic out of the skins. Dig in with a small knife if needed to grab any stubborn cloves. Discard garlic skins.
Cook the pasta according to package directions in well salted boiling water, cooking to just shy of done so it is very al dente (subtract 1-2 minutes off the suggested cooking time on the box). Use a heat-proof cup to scoop out one cup of the pasta cooking water (a pyrex measuring cup or coffee mug both work). Strain pasta and set aside. Return the pasta pot to the stove to use one more time but do not turn the burner on yet.
Place spinach in a high power blender and add the garlic and melted butter and a small splash of the pasta cooking water. Add ¾ teaspoon salt and several cranks of black pepper. Blend the mixture until completely smooth, adding a few more small splashes of the reserved pasta water if it is not blending easily. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
Pour the green sauce into the pasta pot. To clear out the rest of the blender, splash in a little more of the pasta cooking water, pop the lid on and whizz it once or twice, this will clear stubborn sauce from all the crevices in the blender. Pour this liquid into the pot. Turn the burner on medium heat and add the pasta. Toss the pasta with tongs as you cook it for an additional 1-2 minutes, coating all the spaghetti with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick or it looks dry, feel free to drizzle in a little bit more of the pasta water. Keep tossing, tossing, tossing until your noodles are fully coated with sauce. Serve immediately with grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top.
You could likely use any type of pasta with this, but we find that long thin noodles are what we like best – angel hair, linguine, bucatini. You could also bump the greens up to 8 ounces, just adjust salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe is by blogger Deb Perelman, from the book Smitten Kitchen Keepers. An excellent addition to your kitchen library if you love cookbooks.
BEVERAGE PAIRING SUGGESTIONS
This verdant green pasta has a big personality and the depth of flavor that comes from three simple ingredients is really remarkable. Oftentimes, green vegetable dishes can be a little tricky to pair with white wine, as anything too astringent can make greens based dishes taste grassy, which can be a little off putting. A wine with lower alcohol, nice fruit flavor and a little texture is perfect. Our favorite pick for pairing with this pasta is the Dürnberg Grüner Veltliner. A light to medium bodied, inexpensive Austrian wine that’s a best seller in both stores. Clear straw colored in the glass with aromas of green apples, juicy citrus and a hint of warm spice. On the palate, this wine is light and lively, but has a touch of texture that works just perfectly with this super green spaghetti.
For a red we have a French wine that we think would pair just perfectly: the Vignerons de Buxy Gamay-Pinot Noir comes from Coteaux Bourguignons, a wine growing area that spans the southern part of Beaujolais and Burgundy. A 50/50 blend of gamay and pinot noir, this wine shows clear ruby colored in the glass with violet edges. On the nose this red is fresh and approachable with aromas of ripe red berries followed by a palate that’s lively and juicy, with loads of tart red fruit and soft, easy finish. This wine is approachable enough to drink on its own, but it also matches nicely with just about any food you pair it with.
For beer we’re talking green pasta so the brew we have in mind is from the Green Mountain State. Zero Gravity Green State Lager is a crisp, easy drinking Pilsner from the great state of Vermont. This beer has been a bestseller in both stores for years now. Low alcohol, with just the right amount of malt backbone, this is a refreshing and easy to enjoy pils that would be just perfect with this electric green pasta.