Ready in less than 30 minutes and packed with over 30g's of protein, this is a quick and simple recipe that's perfect for midweek dinners. A vibrant green, silky smooth sauce that clings to each pasta shape and can be made and blitzed together in a blender or nutribullet whilst the pasta boils. Topped with creamy burrata, crunchy pistachios and fresh basil.
Time to prep : 10 minutes
Time to cook : 15 minutes
Serves : 2
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
30g spinach
30g kale, leaves stripped from the stalk
15g basil leaves
1/2 tin (120g drained weight) butter beans*
30g pistachios
50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 tsp salt
160g dried pasta, I used rigatoni
1 ball of burrata cheese
To garnish: chopped pistachios, black pepper and fresh basil.
Method
Add the olive oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add in the onion and sauté for 2 minutes until soft and translucent. Then add in the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute. Set to one side to cool.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and prepare a separate bowl of iced water*. Once boiling, add the spinach, kale and basil to the saucepan, submerging them fully in the water, cook for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon or sieve to remove the wilted greens and submerge them in the bowl of iced water. Let them sit for about 1 minute and then drain, squeezing the leaves of any excess water.
Keep the saucepan of boiling water over a high heat and add in the dried pasta and a generous pinch of salt. Cook for 1 minute less than packet instructions, or until al dente. Reserve 1 mug of starchy pasta water before draining the pasta to add to the sauce*.
Whilst the pasta is cooking, make the green sauce. Add the blanched greens to a blender or nutribullet along with the sautéed onion and garlic. Add in the butter beans, grated Parmesan, pistachios and salt. Add in 6 tbsp of starchy pasta water and blend (you can add in more water if you need, 1 tbsp at a time until the green sauce blends easily). Blend until smooth and pourable, season to taste, adding more salt if necessary.
Return the frying pan, wiped clean, to a low heat and pour in the green sauce. Add the drained pasta and stir to mix until fully coated.
Serve the pasta with torn burrata*, chopped pistachios, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh basil to garnish.
Nutritional Information
(per serve)
662 calories
24g fat, 69g carbs, 31g protein
Good to know:
You can use any white beans (butter, cannellini, haricot etc.), they help add a creamy texture and more protein to the sauce.
Boiling the greens for 1 minute and then placing them straight into ice cold water is called 'blanching'. This helps to preserve their bright green colour, nutrients and stops the greens from over cooking and becoming bitter.
You can also serve this with goats cheese, feta or grated Parmesan cheese.
Once the sauce has been mixed with the pasta, it can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge and eaten warm or cold.
The greens sauce can also be stored separately in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Pour it over any type of pasta or gnocchi.