Lemon & Spinach Pasta with Tomatoes
Ani has many good qualities.
One of them is that she is pretty much the most appreciative eater you can imagine. As soon as the prayer is over, she starts pointing to her plate, indicating “hey, serve me up some of that delicious looking stuff.”
And then, after one bite, she’ll look up, nod her head vigorously and say, “yummmmmm. ummmm! yummm!”
Also, she can really pack that food away. Most nights she has three servings of whatever is for dinner.
Meanwhile, Ella shudders after every bite, asks us to feed her each forkful, and asks “Could we just have snacks for dinner instead?”
Balance in the universe.
(Also, you know what would make these lemon spinach pasta photos better? Some really nice beautiful fresh lemons. But sadly, I’m a giant hack who uses bottled lemon juice and. . .that plastic bottle isn’t necessarily that photogenic).
lemon & spinach pasta with tomatoes
Lemon & Spinach Pasta with Tomatoes
Lemon & Spinach Pasta with tomatoes. Seriously the perfect summer dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 5 Tablespoons lemon juice divided
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound dry spiral pasta
- 2 cups roughly chopped baby spinach
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups grape tomatoes quartered
Instructions
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In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add garlic and cook about sixty seconds, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn.
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Add the half-and-half, 4 Tablespoons lemon juice, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. The lemon juice will probably make your half-and-half seize up a little. Don't worry about it. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer about 15 minutes, until slightly thickened and reduced. Stir occasionally.
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Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta, cooking it has just a slight bite. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Pour the reduced cream sauce over the top and cook over medium heat until the noodles have absorbed most of the sauce. In the last few minutes, add the spinach to the pot so it's slightly wilted.
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Remove from heat and toss with Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, last Tablespoon of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa)
if you liked this lemon & spinach pasta with tomatoes, you might also like these other posts:
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Raspberry and Lemon Zest Crumble Muffins
- Cream Cheese and Chicken Orzo with Tomatoes and Basil
My kids are more the "can we just have snacks for dinner?" (unless we're having pizza or chicken nuggets, of course.) This look DELISH!!
this pregnancy has been about all things lemon so i'm adding this to my list 🙂
This looks so good, I might have to make it tonight
haha, I know what you mean! Atticus used to "mmmm" his way through everything and was so awesome, but now he's the one that won't taste anything new.
This looks yummy! I will be trying this at the weekend!
This was on my meal-plan for the week when I got a text yesterday asking if I could take dinner to a family who just had a baby. Eric was stopping at the store on his way home anyway, so I had him pick up some extra half and half. (I had enough of everything else to double the recipe.) As I cooked it I began to seriously worry about my decision to take an untried recipe to a family I barely know. But that's what I did. And then I returned home and decided that it was very good. I just hope they don't mind that I served them no meat.
I just made this tonight, and it was so so delicious and so so pretty! Adding it to the rotation! I've also made your egg tostadas and they are yummy as well. I love all your recipe posts! Keep them coming! 🙂
Made this tonight and added parmesan crusted chicken on top. SUPER delicious and definitely a keeper!