Fastest Pasta With Spinach Sauce

By Mark Bittman

Updated June 6, 2016

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(1,672)
Comments
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The very best pasta is often the simplest. Jack Bishop, the author of “The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook,” has refined his technique for pasta and vegetable sauce to breathtaking efficiency: He cooks the greens with the pasta and adds the seasonings at the last minute. While the pasta is cooking, Mr. Bishop prepares the seasonings. Allow at least a gallon of water to a pound of pasta, because you need a large pot to accommodate the greens and because, if there is too little water, the addition of the greens will slow the cooking too rapidly.

Featured in: The Minimalist; The Last Word In Easy Pasta

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Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings

  • 1 clove garlic

  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)

  • About 15 calamata or other olives, pitted and roughly chopped

  • ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 pound long pasta, like linguine

  • 1 pound spinach, washed, tough stems removed, roughly chopped

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 to 4 servings)

90 grams carbs; 613 calories; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 20 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 598 milligrams sodium; 18 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Meanwhile, mince the garlic as finely as possible and combine it in the bottom of a warm bowl with the red pepper flakes, olives and olive oil.

  2. Step 2

    Place the pasta in the pot, and cook until it is nearly done (test it for doneness by tasting). Plunge the spinach into the water, and cook until it wilts, less than a minute. Drain quickly, allowing some water to cling to the pasta, and toss pasta and spinach in the bowl with the garlic and olive mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,672 user ratings
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Comments

Maria

I dislike glops of spinach in any recipe. Instead chop spinach a la Chiffonade: roll several leaves together to make a cigar-like form and cut across the width. You'll get lovely green ribbons.

Sara

I find that it needs a little something more, so I usually add a little lemon juice to the olive oil/olive mix, then serve with freshly-grated parmesan. The acid from the lemon juice brightens the whole dish.

ALSinDC

This is yummy. A slight variation: just heap all the spinach into a colander. Then drain the pasta on top of it. The result is bright green spinach, perfectly wilted.

Deirdre

I don’t get the 5 star rating for this recipe at all. Simple is fine, high quality ingredients of course (always)… but this is just watery and bland and totally uninspired. I never look at comments until after I’ve made it for myself - fully agree with all the commenters who said this recipe needs tons more to be flavorful - tons more of the called-for ingredients and/or new ingredients to make it interesting. I also agree with the commenter on icky globs of spinach… if I were to make this recipe again (which I won’t), I would try stirring fresh spinach directly into the just-drained pasta to wilt it - I would NOT boil it, even for a few seconds.

Juliet Jones

Thanks to other commenter, I added some sultanas (like golden raisins) and walnuts to this, and I would also suggest chopping the spinach first because otherwise it stays very clumpy. I sprinkled it with Parmesan at the end. I would make this again it’s quick and easy.

L. Huggler

In the NYT article, Jack Bishop recommends that the olive oil used should be ''The best you can lay your hands on''. I absolutely agree. Using a really superior olive oil transforms the dish to something made for gods.

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