(Recipe can be found on Martha Stewart’s site here.)
Step by Step Instructions:
Lemony Pasta with Goat Cheese and Spinach doesn’t require too many ingredients…love that! Here’s what you’ll need: Salt & Pepper, 4 ounces of Goat Cheese, 1 Lemon, 1/2 cup of Walnuts, 3/4 pound of Spaghetti, 10 ounces (not quite 2 bags) of Baby Spinach, and Cilantro & Flat Leaf Parsley.
To begin, I toasted 1/2 cup of walnuts. While I did that I also got a pot of water boiling for the spaghetti. Toasting nuts is super easy if you aren’t familiar – just get a pan and heat it over medium heat. Then put the nuts in (no oil needed) and stir them occasionally until they are toasted. If you can smell them, they are done. Don’t forget about them, because you definitely don’t want to burn these guys.
Then set the walnuts aside until you need them.
While the pasta cooks I worked on the herbs. I set aside 2 cups of cilantro leaves and roughly chopped them.
When the pasta is nearly cooked, reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water.
When the pasta is done go ahead and drain it.
Once the cilantro is chopped do the same with the parsley. You will need about 3 cups of parsley roughly chopped.
I grabbed my microplane grater (rather handy tool), and I zested 1 lemon. You’ll need about 1 tablespoon of zest.
Then using a juicer I reserved the juice from the lemon. Again you’ll need about a tablespoon and a small lemon should suffice.
Now it’s time to put it all together. In the pot I cooked the pasta in, I heated 4 ounces of goat cheese and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water over medium heat.
Once the sauce is heated and the water and cheese are combined, it’s time to move on.
Add the pasta, 10 ounces of baby spinach, the cilantro and parsley that was chopped, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and carefully stir it up until the spinach and herbs wilt down. You can add some more pasta water if you need to thin out the sauce a bit.
Finally add some salt and pepper to the pasta to taste. Mix that up and you’re all set!
You can see how much the greens will wilt as you continue heating and stirring up the pasta.
Finally chop the toasted walnuts, and serve up the pasta. Top each bowl with a small handful of walnuts and dig in! This pasta is light and is a great way to pack in the veggies! Yum! Just a warning this does make a large amount, so next time I might half the pasta, spinach, and herbs. Happy cooking!
Makes approx. 4 servings
Ingredients:
Salt and pepper
3/4 pound spaghettini or spaghetti
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
10 ounces baby spinach (10 cups)
3 cups fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Preparation Instructions:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta water, then drain.
2. In a pot, stir together goat cheese and 1 cup pasta water over medium. Add pasta, spinach, parsley, cilantro, lemon zest and juice, and more pasta water if necessary to create a light sauce that coats pasta; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.
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