A quick and easy pasta salad combining healthy spinach, toasted pine nuts and green pesto, with an added sprinkle of fresh parmesan cheese.
This dish makes an ideal barbecue side dish, and is delicious served with griddled chicken.
Ingredients
- 200g dried pasta - e.g fusilli or farfalle
- 100g baby leaf spinach
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- drizzle of olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove - crushed
- 3 generous tbsp green pesto
- 15g freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus a handful of extra shavings to serve
- salt & pepper
Directions
- Cook the pasta according to instructions on the packet. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
- In the meantime, heat a large, deep frying pan. Add the spinach along with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Fry the spinach for 1-2 minutes, until completely wilted. Transfer to a colander to drain off any excess water. Leave to cool slightly.
- Wipe the pan clean, return to the heat then tip in the pine nuts. Keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn, cook the pine nuts until slightly browned. Transfer to a small bowl once toasted.
- Using the same frying pan, heat a small drizzle of oil. Add the crushed garlic, fry for 1 minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Return the wilted spinach and toasted pine nuts to the pan, plus the cooked pasta, pesto and grated parmesan cheese. Give everything a really good mix up.
- Season with extra salt and pepper to taste, then serve with parmesan shavings sprinkled on top.
Notes
For a little extra indulgence, stir 100g of cream cheese through the dish at the same time as the pasta etc. to create a deliciously creamy version.
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