Did I tell you that on our first date, I invited Paul up to my apartment at three in the morning and made him dinner? I was so young and naive, but fortunately so was he.
That night, almost 16(!) years ago, in my very first kitchen, I made pasta with bell peppers and tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. (I didn't ditch the cheese until a couple years later.)
This pasta here is just the sort of dish that you could casually whip up at three in the morning with what you probably have on hand, all while sipping a glass of wine, shooing away your college roommate, and looking like a domestic goddess.
Incidentally, it is also a perfect lunch to prepare for two hungry children under the age of five because you need to go grocery shopping and you're out of bread and this will only take about 3 more minutes than pb&j anyway and you're still wearing your sweaty gym clothes from your visit to the Y fives hours previous.
But also, I was thinking we're all going to need some almost instant dinners in our arsenal as the days get shorter and the back-to-school schedules get more harried.
This pasta is perfect for all those scenarios. It's flexible. I used spinach because it's what I had (and of course it cooks quickly) but you can use whatever vegetable odds and ends you have in the house. Mushrooms or broccoli or kale would all be delicious.
Almost Instant Semi-Fancy Pasta
makes: 3 grown-up servings
takes: about 12 minutes
- 8 ounces whole wheat penne (or half a bag)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
- pinch of salt
- 2 heaping tablespoons sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
- 1/3 cup vegan parmesan
- about 1/3 cup pasta water
- black pepper
About 5 minutes before your pasta is done cooking, heat the olive oil and garlic in a big skillet over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot and the garlic smells wonderful, add the spinach and a pinch of salt to the pan. Toss it around with the oil and garlic until wilted. Add the tomatoes with their oil. It's probably time to scoop the pasta out of the water and into the pan with the vegetables - if you don't have a big slotted spoon called a spider, well you should probably get one - they're cheap and useful - but if you don't have one, drain your pasta, but reserve about a cup of the pasta water for the sauce. Add the parmesan to the pan and stir it around to coat the pasta. Drizzle in enough pasta water to give it a creamy consistency. Stir. Taste for salt.
Serve (grown-up portions) with a few cracks of black pepper.
Notes on kid-friendliness: No, neither of my kids ate the sun-dried tomatoes, but the oil they're packed in gives this dish a nice flavor and the tomatoes are easily avoided and saved for me. Felix ate around the spinach, sigh, but Desmond ate it. If I had had more time I would have chopped it finely - that will sometimes work with the 2-year-old.
