; Supermarket Serenade: Spinach: Love it or Hate it?

Monday, October 6, 2008

Spinach: Love it or Hate it?

Spinach seems to be one of those foods that either you love or you hate; there never seems to be a gray area...you rarely hear someone say, "...ah, yeah...spinach, it's OK." At least not in my family. I'm in the love it column and I'm trying really hard to put my family in the love it column too. (It's working moderately well).

This weekend I made a tortellini dish that seems to meet the approval of everyone-Creamy Tortellini with Spinach and Basil. It's tops on the list for me as a weekend dish because it is so simple to make. With four baseball games this weekend, we needed quick. There are a lot of ways to adapt it to personal taste, such as adding some type of ham, bacon or chicken, maybe some garlic or a small bit of onions.

So should it be fresh or frozen? Well that's completely up to you. I've made this dish with both, but when I'm in a hurry I prefer to use frozen....stem removal takes too much time. If you are using fresh, rinse spinach, remove stems and coarsely chop.


Creamy Tortellini with Spinach and Basil

1 (20 ounce) package cheese filled tortellini
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 (9 ounce) package frozen spinach no sauce (thawed or cooked and squeezed dry)
1 cup packed fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Cook the tortellini in 2 quarts of boiling water for 3 minutes; drain. Return tortellini to the pot, stir in the butter, pepper, salt, nutmeg and 1 cup of the half and half.

Stir in the spinach, and basil; cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining half and half and the Parmesan cheese; cook just until heated through. Transfer tortellini to a serving bowl and garnish with the toasted pine nuts.

Yield 6-8 servings

21 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

Veronica, I'm a spinach lover and your recipe looks absolutely delicious. I'm going to give it a try.

Allie said...

What a great looking dish! I love spinach and would use it in everything if I could.

Aggie said...

I love spinach...fresh or frozen! This pasta looks fantastic!!

Ashley said...

I'm in the love column too. That dish looks wonderful! I can't wait to make it.

Julie said...

I always thought I didn't like spinach as a child. My mother would cook the life out of it and it released this sour odor all over the house.
But turns out I DO like spinach just cooked lightly or fresh. Your pasta dish looks great!

Beth (jamandcream) said...

This is my kind of dish. Im a spinach lover and in the process of trying to convert hubby and daughter - think Im slowly getting there!!

That Girl said...

I am definitely in the loving spinach camp.

Pam said...

I love spinach - always have. I would be thrilled to have this for dinner. It looks and sounds delicious.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Count me in as a spinach lover, but I rarely get to make anything containing spinach since my husband can't stand spinach. This spinach/pasta dish looks great!

grace said...

i used to abhor spinach, both fresh and cooked. now i'll eat it however it comes, unless it's rotten. that's the foulest smell my nose has ever encountered. :)

Prudy said...

Oh delish! I love spinach, like Popeye.

Anonymous said...

Holy cow, this looks awesome! I love spinach and I love pasta. Very nice.

Maria said...

I am a spinach lover! The pasta looks great. We just posted a tortellini soup today. We love the stuff!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I love it and this looks delicious.

The Blonde Duck said...

I love spinach. As long as I cover veggies in cheese, Ben will eat them. This looks like a winner!

Aunt Julie said...

I love spinach, I love basil, and I LOVE the fact that you came over to visit me for my SITS Featured Blogger Day in the Sun--Thanks!!

Esi said...

I love spinach! This sounds decadent, but still reasonably healthy. I love that!

Leslie said...

Oh yum...I love spinach!
Thanks for your comment on my Potato-sour cream biscuit post!

Chocolate Shavings said...

I adore spinach - and I agree it's either you love or you hate... and I absolutely love it!
Your pasta looks great too!

Robin said...

Love It!! This dish sounds fantastic and my kind of food. The pictures are great!

Emily said...

I love spinach. It's great because it's more affordable than mixed greens.