Receta spinach and pasta soup
spinach and pasta soup
emerald goodness
This is a healthy, refreshing and quite good-looking soup. It’s one of my desperation recipes, meaning that I make it when desperately needing a nutritious and light meal in hardly any time. I often keep a bag of pre-washed spinach in the fridge, but I would not snob some good quality frozen ones, possibly organic.
I often use fresh pasta leftovers which I dry on a towel for a day or two and then roughly crush them with my hands to give it a rustic look. Bought fresh egg-noodles of any shape you like will do just fine, no crushing needed.
What makes the dish is that drizzle of olive oil at the end. The fruity creaminess of the oil brings out the herby intensity of the spinach.
This is a perfect occasion to open that bottle of olive oil you bought during your last holidays in Umbria.
Please don’t be tempted to cook the pasta in the soup, it will be chewy, you want it silky. Fresh noodles cook in no time so it’s not an effort.
If you are gluten free, this is a good recipe to use boiled rice leftovers too. As a further alternative, you could substitute the pasta with two tablespoon cooked cannellini beans per person. Just warmed them first in a pan with a little garlic and olive oil before gently float them on the soup.
Recipe
- 1/2 kg (1 lb) spinach
- 1 onion
- 1 lt ( 1 quart) boiling water or stock
- 1 teaspoon flour or corn starch
- 60 gr (2 ounces) fresh pasta noodles per person
- 2 teaspoon freshly grated Parmesan per person
- a good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Dice the onion and soften it in two tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan which must be large enough to hold the soup. Add the cleaned spinach leaves, cover and simmer slowly until the greens are wilted. Add flour or starch and stir. Add the boiling water or stock, simmer 3-4 more minutes, season and puree until smooth. Cover to keep warm.
In a separate pan cook the noodles in plenty salted boiling water until al dente. Fresh tagliolini will take no more than one minute. Drain and toss with one tablespoon of olive oil. Now quickly ladle the spinach puree into bowls, add the pasta, a sprinkle of grated Parmesan, drizzle with good EVO oil and serve immediately.
Serves 4
here, with your sprinkle of cheese