RECIPE: A blender packs veggies into green pasta sauce
Whether you’re serving small kids or just want to find some strategies for sneaking extra vegetables into your dinners, quick blender pasta sauces are your friend. Simply blitz up cooked veggies, cheese and a bit of pasta water and you’ve essentially got a creamy puree to toss with your favorite pasta shape (in our house, that’s anything long and skinny).
And while you can do this technique with just about any vegetable (roasted butternut squash and cheddar cheese is a great mac and cheese-like combination), you’ll want to choose some that are quick-cooking to get the recipe done in 30 minutes. I like to use a combination of frozen peas, which turn tender in about 30 seconds in a pot of boiling water, and baby spinach, which will wilt down in the blender just by adding a bit of the hot pasta cooking water. A small clove of garlic and a fistful of freshly grated Parmesan add umami and richness. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by drizzling in additional pasta water; you’ll want a sauce that’s pourable but not soupy.
For a final flourish, I always finish my blender sauces with a few tablespoons of olive oil — add it in while the blender is running to make the mixture silky smooth.
Green Pasta
- Salt, plus more to taste
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 pound long dried pasta, such as bucatini, spaghetti or linguine
- 2 1/2 ounces (about 3 lightly packed cups) baby spinach
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 small clove garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the peas and cook until they are just heated through, about 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon or spider to fish out the peas, shaking off excess water, and transfer to a blender. Set aside.
- Return the water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, 8 to 12 minutes. Drain, reserving a generous 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Add the spinach, Parmesan, garlic and 6 tablespoons of the pasta water to the blender with the peas. Blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, blend in additional pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Then, while the blender is running, pour in the oil. Continue to blend until the sauce is creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Combine the pasta and the sauce in a large bowl. Taste again and, if necessary, add additional salt and pepper. Serve with additional Parmesan.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving, based on 4: 533 calories (percent of calories from fat, 17), 19 grams protein, 91 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams total sugars, 6 grams fiber, 10 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 4 milligrams cholesterol, 357 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
