Easy Pasta Florentine

The main reason I started a food blog was to document some of my “inventions” that turned out reasonably well so that I could prepare them again.  This dish falls into the clean-out-the-refrigerator/pantry category.  On hand were a couple of bunches of spinach that needed to be used, a bit of mozzarella cheese, and some whole wheat pasta that had been around for a while. 

Garnished with grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

 

2 bunches fresh spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

3 cups whole wheat bowtie pasta

4 cups water, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ cup flour

1/3 cup nonfat dry milk

1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Double rinse spinach and drain well.  Hint:  add a good shake of salt to water when rinsing leafy vegetables to help remove sand and dirt from leaves.

Sauté garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet with a tight fitting lid.  Add spinach and 1 cup water; cover and steam until desired tenderness is reached, about 5 to 8 minutes. 

Be careful not to overocok spinach.

Remove spinach and place in a bowl; set aside.  Add 3 cups water to the same pan and bring to a boil; add pasta and salt, and boil gently until desired tenderness is reached, about 10 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, remove pasta and place in the same bowl with the spinach.  Mix flour and nonfat dry milk.  Let liquid in pan cool a bit, then quickly whisk flour/powdered milk mixture into the liquid, making sure that no lumps form.  Cook on low until thickened (this doesn’t take long), stirring constantly witha whisk.  Turn off heat, then stir in mozzarella until well blended.  Dump spinach and pasta back into the skillet, stirring gently until all is well coated.  Yield:  4 servings.

Creamy and delicious!

Variations:  Use any type of pasta you prefer.  If you don’t have nonfat dry milk on hand, remove about a cup of the final cooking liquid and add in a cup of milk to make the sauce.