spinachARTICHOKE

& it's not a dip, it's a dish.

...for dinner!

we like it so much that we've had it the last two weeks for dinner.  well, not every night, but one night each week!  ..& rob pretty much wants to drink the sauce, so i think he's pretty into it too;) 

this recipe came together at the grocery store the other week because i was genuinely inspired by the beautiful organic spinach and just had to create something with it!  so i went with it, selecting a few more ingredients that sounded like good additions to the spinach.  however, with any "great" idea when it to comes creating recipes, you never know if it's going to end up being as delicious as the idea in your mind....but this one worked out & it will definitely be repeated again & again!  ...although, maybe not next week! ;)

the ingredients pictured above are for the sauce.  ...sauce for the pasta that is!  & for clarification purposes the ingredients are:  artichokes, flat parsley, vegetable broth, milk, cheese, garlic, chia powder, spinach & lemon juice.  these ingredients keep the pasta light & fresh, perfect for an easy spring dish or a yummy side to some BBQ!  & i am thinking, this recipe may even be good cold too, although i have not tried this...so if it doesn't taste good, then i never suggested it! :)

so that's the simplicity of the sauce! the other ingredients, which are few,  are pictured below.  portabella mushroom caps, onion, quinoa pasta & carrots.  

curious about quinoa pasta?  it is very tasty and offers a healthy nutrient rich alternative to regular pasta noodles.   quinoa pasta offers the same benefits of quinoa (which i have written about before) but as a quick refresher...it's a complete protein, rich in fiber, vitamins & minerals! i find it at whole foods & at heinen's (our local grocer) in the health food section.   i'm not sure if rob even knows that he is eating quinoa pasta?  and if he doesn't, well, i guess he does now... "hi honey, i hope you'll still eat it, you have really been enjoying it!"xo. -cheesy grin :)

ingredients.

3 cups spinach  

1 can whole artichokes (drained)

1/3 cup flat parsley

1/2 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup milk 

1/4 cup parmesan 

1/4 cup asiago

1/4 cup romano

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp. chia powder

juice of 1 lemon

3/4 cup onion chopped

3 large portabella mushroom caps chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

shredded carrots

1 box quinoa pasta spaghetti noodles

directions.

chop portabella mushrooms & onion, saute in olive oil until softened and brown.  

next, add spinach, artichokes, parsley, veggie broth, milk, parmesan, romano, asiago, garlic chia powder and lemon juice to vitamix (or other high powered blender, etc)  and blend until it is a creamy yummy sauce.  the wonderful things about the vitamix is that if you blend it on high for long enough it heats it up too, actually making the sauce blended & hot right then!  if you do not have a vitamix, you may have to blend and then heat the sauce on the stove.  

boil the water & add the quinoa pasta cooking as directed on the package. 

once all of the above are complete.  place pasta in a large bowl, add the mushrooms & onions, some sauce & mix together.  i just feel it out on the sauce, not adding it all, just enough to coat 1 box of the quinoa pasta.  we like ours on the saucier side.  

next, place the mixed pasta in individual bowls & top with shredded carrots.  & if you like, sea salt & a little pepper to taste!

notes.

*again, if you do not have a vitamix, you will need to adapt the blending & the heating of the sauce to suite your kitchen.

*i let the sauce sit in the vitamix for little bit before adding it to the pasta.  this allows it to thicken up a bit, due to the chia powder.

*when i had the idea for this recipe at the grocery store, i was thinking just parmesan cheese, but when i got home i realized that i had grabbed a 3 cheese mix of asiago, romano & parmesan.  & it worked out beautifully!  however, you could experiment with just parmesan or any combination of the the 3, as long as it ends up equaling 3/4 cups total, for the cheese combo.  

*you will have sauce left over with the recipe above, the amounts i listed above are enough for rob & i.  about 4 servings.

*you can use the extra sauce for other things.  last week when i made this, i used some of the extra sauce drizzled over eggs for breakfast the next morning & it was mmmm....mmmmm....good!  

*i added grilled italian chicken sausage to rob's serving(s).   ;)

peace, love & pasta!

enjoy! e.