Panic Meals II

This beautiful and healthy pasta is made from ingredients you can keep on hand for awhile.  A can of tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, garlic and frozen spinach.  I can have this prepared in about fifteen minutes if I need to...so pour up a glass of something red and read on.

Spicy Pasta with tomatoes and greens

1 10 oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach

2-4 TB EVOO

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

6-8 sun dried tomatoes, sliced into ¼ in. strips

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

½ c. parmesan

16 oz. pasta shells

Put frozen spinach in a microwave safe bowl and thaw gently by zapping it in 30 second intervals.  It does not have to be completely thawed, just thawed enough that it no longer resembles a green iceberg--just kidding.  You just need to be able to add it to the boiling water with out lowering the water temperature too much.

Start a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Set a large sauté pan over med. heat, film the bottom of the pan with the EVOO.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for about 1 minute.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, the canned tomatoes and their juices.  Bring this mixture up to a simmer and then lower the heat to keep it at a light simmer, just enough to bubble and reduce a bit.

As soon as the water for pasta is boiling add 2 tsps. of salt and the pasta.  If you are using shells, it should take about 10-12 minutes to cook to al dente, but please consult the cooking instructions on the box. 

When the pasta is about 3 min. away from being finished, add the spinach and give the pot a good stir.  When the pasta is near al dente, add a few ladles full (about 1/2 cup) of pot liquor (that’s what we call the water we’ve been cooking the pasta in) to the simmering tomato sauce and stir to combine (this is also known as stretching the sauce).  Now drain the spinach and pasta and add them to the sauce.  Let this simmer just a bit to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce and to finish cooking.  Do NOT overcook the pasta, this should only take a few minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parmesan, garnish with fresh pepper and serve in warmed pasta bowls.

This is a great winter dish but with just a shift in the ingredients it is a killer when fresh greens and tomatoes are in season.   If you have fresh spinach or arugula just add the greens in one minute before the pasta is al dente.  When tomatoes are in season substitute 4-5 fresh tomatoes or 2 cups of cherry tomatoes for the canned tomatoes.  Slip the skins off the large tomatoes and roughly dice them or if using cherry tomatoes, just cut them in half and use them in place of the canned tomatoes.  Amazing!

A few more variations:

I set aside a cup of fresh greens, arugula is especially nice, and roughly chop it up.  Just before serving this pasta I stir in the fresh greens.  The mix of cooked and uncooked greens just adds another dimension to this simple meal.

If this is not a true Panic Meal and you have planned ahead you can really jazz this up with grilled chicken breasts or grilled shrimp.  Marinate the chicken or shrimp in a mixture of garlic, wine (or lemon juice), red pepper flakes and EVOO for 20 minutes and then grill or sauté until cooked.  If serving chicken, slice each breast thinly, fanning the strips over the pasta.  If serving shrimp, nestle the shrimp into the pasta.  Ta da—gorgeous gourmet meal!