light summer pasta

This can be served hot or refrigerated for a fancy cold pasta salad- it's a great recipe for a Meatless Monday dish. It's ridiculously easy but very tasty and light. I’ve had dishes similar to this at nice restaurants- something about it’s simple ingredients makes it very elegant.

You'll need:

Short pasta - 1 lb. (I prefer gemelli, fusilli or penne)

Spinach leaves (fresh not frozen)- 1 bag

Cherry tomatoes- 1 package, sliced

Black Olives- 1- 14 oz. can, sliced

Feta Cheese- 1 cup, crumbled

Garlic- 2-3 cloves, chopped

Salt & Pepper- to taste

Optional: Pine nuts

Boil salted pasta water. Simmer spinach leaves in a small amount of water 2-3 minutes until leaves are wilted. Strain water well.

Cook pasta according to box.

Sauté garlic in bit of olive oil. Once cooked, add sliced cherry tomatoes for 1-2 minutes, then black olives and spinach. Toss with cooked pasta.  Stir in feta cheese and season with salt & pepper. 


[Tags: vegetarian recipes, healthy pasta, healthy pasta salad, meatless monday recipes, gemelli with spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives and feta]