Spicy Green Pasta

Active Time: 15 Minutes

Start to Eat: 1 Hour

Serves: 4

INTRODUCTION

Creamy, spicy, healthy, and easy-to-make pasta! Even my meat-eating husband says this is one of the few pasta dishes he feels full and satisfied with without needing a protein.

Make with fresh ingredients like tomatillos, jalapenos spinach, basil, and garlic, blended with some parmesan cheese and a touch of cream to balance it out...this is a quick but fulfilling weeknight dinner! Plus, it tastes great hot or cold for leftovers. And if you don't like spice, just take out the jalapeno and you still have a deliciously creamy pasta dish.

Pasta la vista, baby

INGREDIENTS

4 tomatillos
1 large jalapeno
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 large garlic cloves
About 1/2 cup of fresh basil (roughly 10 leaves)
One small shallot
1 large handful of spinach (about 1 heaping cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
12 oz. of pasta (usually make the whole 16 oz. box then eyeball how much pasta/sauce ratio I want that day!)
1 1/2 cups reserved pasta water (or more)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

First, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place tomatillos and jalapeno on baking tray or dish and roast for 25 minutes.
While that's roasting, let's cook the pasta! Boil a large pot of salted water and cook your desired pasta for about 2 minutes under the recommended cooking time. I used a large fusilli pasta but if you don't have that, I would recommend a pasta with a lot of nooks and crannies in order to sop up the delicious sauce, like rotini, or cavatappi. Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water when you drain it!
Let's start the sauce! Add the following to a blender: roasted tomatillos and jalapeno, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, basil, shallot, spinach, salt, pepper, and about 1/3 cup of the pasta water. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
Heat butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the sauce from the blender to the skillet and add about 1/2 more pasta water and the heavy cream. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit, then add the pasta and the parmesan, store to completely coat the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon more of each). If it gets too thick, add more pasta water to your desired thickness.
Serve now while it's hot! Or you can let it sit a bit to allow it to thicken.

BON APPETIT!

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