Greek penne pasta
7
Points®
Total time: 35 min • Prep: 15 min • Cook: 20 min • Serves: 8 • Difficulty: Easy
Spinach, tomatoes, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and olives mixed together with penne pasta make an easy and delicious lunch or dinner. We sautéed the pine nuts in olive oil and garlic and then threw in the spinach and tomatoes to elevate the flavor of this Greek favorite. We used penne for this dish, but you could also substitute bowtie pasta or macaroni. We suggest using a block of feta cheese and crumbling it yourself rather than using the pre-crumbled variety.
Ingredients
Uncooked penne pasta
12 oz
Olive oil
1 tsp
Pine nuts (unsalted, raw or dry roasted, no sugar added)
⅔ oz, about 2 tbsp
Jarred minced garlic
1½ tsp
Chopped frozen spinach
10 oz, thawed
Tomato
1 pound(s), plum
Feta cheese
4 oz, crumbled
Olives
6 gm, black, pitted and chopped
Instructions
1
Cook pasta according to package directions (without butter or oil), drain and set aside. If necessary, cover to keep warm.
2
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Add olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until oil sizzles. Add pine nuts and garlic. Cook and stir until pine nuts are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and tomatoes and cook until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.
3
Add spinach mixture to pasta and toss until combined. Serve pasta sprinkled with feta cheese and black olives. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.
4
Flavor Booster: Give this pasta dish a fresh taste by sprinkling with 1 teaspoon fresh minced dill and 1 tablespoon fresh minced Italian parsley just before serving. Also try dusky purple Greek kalamata olives with a meaty texture and slightly tart flavor in this recipe.
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