Who doesn't love a large bowl of piping hot pasta for dinner? Well, combine this with the fresh flavours of goat's cheese and basil and you'll have a bowl of perfection in no time.
Kids and fussy eaters will love the fun green shade and big ones will appreciate the rich flavours from the hidden spinach and earthy basil.
If you're not a fan of goat's cheese, this dish will work equally as well with any other type of cheese - a nice creamy mozzarella ripped and scattered on top works deliciously, and a white cheddar will work perfectly blitzed through the sauce. Enjoy!
Goat’s Cheese, Spinach & Basil Linguine
Serves 5
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 500g linguine
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 160g frozen spinach
- 125g goat’s cheese
- 30g fresh basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chilli flakes (optional)
1. Set a non-stick pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and gently fry for 4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, set a large pan of salted water over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Add the linguine and cook for 2 minutes less than the packet cooking time.
3. While the pasta is cooking and once the onions have softened, add the garlic to fry for a minute before adding the frozen spinach to the pan, along with 400ml of the starchy pasta water. Increase the heat and cook the spinach and onion mix until the pasta is ready.
4. Add the spinach and onion mix to a blender with half of the goat’s cheese and the basil and blitz until smooth.
5. Drain the linguine and transfer back to the pan. Pour over the blended sauce and continue to cook over a low/medium heat.
6. After about 2 minutes, the sauce should thicken and coat the linguine. Serve with a sprinkle of any remaining goat’s cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper. Top with chilli flakes if you like a little heat.
Extracted from Beat The Budget by Mimi Harrison (Ebury Press, £16.99).
