One-Pot Vegan Spinach Pasta

This recipe for One-Pot Vegan Spinach Pasta, adapted by The Feedfeed Vegan newsletter, intrigued me as a novel way to cook pasta. You basically need a wide enough skillet to fit the spaghetti lengthwise, plus 5 cups of water and some oil. Essentially you are using the pasta water to add flavor to the dish. You can add just about any sauce to the pasta once it is al dente, but the Spinach Pesto really spoke to me for many reasons.

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you know that for the last year and a half, I have been eating a plant-based diet for most of my meals to bring down my cholesterol and reverse plaque build-up in my arteries. I recently went to the blood bank to donate blood, and failed the hemoglobin level test. What this means is that I didn’t have enough iron in my blood to qualify for blood donation.

The nurse told me to make sure I was eating plenty of leafy greens accompanied with citrus, which helps the body absorb the iron. So now my mission is to eat leafy greens, like kale, spinach and microgreens, every day with a healthy lemon juice spritz. And guess what…this one-pot vegan pasta recipe has a healthy dose of both spinach and lemon juice. Plus, I added toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) as they contain not only iron, but also zinc, protein, fiber and potassium. So please try this method of cooking pasta and let me know in the comment box what sauce you use for the topping! xoM

One-Pot Spinach Pasta

Adapted from Jake Cohen

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
• 1 cup basil, washed and dried
• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 6 tbsp olive oil, divided into two
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 pound dried spaghetti
• 3 cups water
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

• In a food processor or blender, place spinach, basil, pepitas, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and nutritional yeast, and purée until smooth. If necessary you can add 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a bowl.

  In a wide skillet, heat remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil with garlic and crushed red pepper and sautée for 2 minutes. Add the spaghetti and water. Bring to a simmer and stir to keep pasta from sticking together. Cook until the water has reduced to a creamy consistency and pasta is al dente, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat and add spinach pesto. Pasta will continue to cook so make sure you remove from the heat while there is still a little bit of water yet. Adjust your seasonings with salt and pepper.

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