Go green with Spinach Spaghetti
Have you ever seen words forming images? In my case yes. Many idioms have been dancing in my head for a while, trying desperately to form images. Or is it called hallucination?? However I tried, they were becoming stronger & stronger and taking centrestage amongst them were these popular sayings - 'life served on a platter', 'if life gives you a lemon, you make a lemonade' and 'born with a silver spoon'. The inventor of these sayings undoubtedly must have been a foodie, like all of us reading this (oh sorry if you are not & accidently reached this page, you can still drool over the pics).
For me there's another interpretation of this line - served on a platter, than getting the fancy luxuries and comforts of life. It's a reflection of our life & culture, that we pass through our hands. So that tasty dish being served in that beautiful chinaware is not just a dish, but a part of our memory, life, culture, tradition, taste, mood and also attitude. Trust me anything cooked in bad mood & with negative emotions will never taste good. But a well thought dish, made with love will surely pass a happy memory and a healthy habit to your loved ones. Spend few extra minutes before actual cooking, and you will never regret those minutes ever. In those few self-conversational moments you will learn how by replacing a thick slice of cheese to tofu or lettuce in your kid's burger, you are passing a habit and a taste that he might develop for life. A habit of healthy eating. All served on his platter. So go green and pass it on.
Spinach Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients:
Olive Oil - 2-3 tbsp
Garlic Cloves - 6-8 (finely chopped/ minced)
Spinach Leaves - 1 cup (roughly chopped)
Spaghetti - 100 gm
Chilly Flakes - 1/2 tbsp
Oregano/ Italian Seasoning - 1-2 tsp (Or as per liking)
Grated Cheese - 1/4 cup (Optional. I didn't use to keep it lighter)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method:
- Cook spaghetti al dente, as per the packaging instructions in enough water. Add 1/4 tbsp salt & 3-4 drops of oil to water as well.
- Drain spaghetti, retaining little water.
- Combine olive oil and garlic in a pan, and cook till garlic gets lightly browned and fragrant.
- Add the spinach, salt and pepper and cook; tossing it gently, until the spinach begins to wilt.
- Add pasta, chilly flakes and seasoning to it and mix it well, so that flavours blend well, for 2-3 mins
- If desired, and if you feel pasta is too dry, add a little water and let it also mix well.
- Transfer to a serving dish and top with grated cheese.
Notes:
- Spinach is a very nutrient-dense food, meaning low in calorie but very high in minerals & vitamins. In fact on per calorie basis, spinach has more protein than beef or steak.
- Al Dente is the Italian expression of cooking pasta or rice, till its firm but not hard or firm crisp. Another expression is that it 'should have a bite'. And one of the best ways I know to check that out is by the "Line Method'. After the pasta has been cooked till almost the cooking time instructed, mostly it's 9-12 minutes, take a pasta out of the pan and cut it in half. Now if you look closely, you will see either of the following - a white thick line at the tip of the cut pasta, meaning it's undercooked; or no line, meaning it's overcooked, or a very very thin line, meaning it's perfectly cooked. trust me it's the perfect indicator.
- Cook this with whole wheat pasta, and up the health quotient by many notches of this wholesome meal.
Sending this as my entry to following events - Dish it out - Spinach & Garlic, Light Lunches, & Cook it Healthy - Proteinicious.
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