Fettuccine and Spinach with Sun-Dried Cream Sauce

 EDITED 8/27/22: And here we come, folks, to perhaps one of the real reasons I never make the same recipe twice? I don’t do a real good job reading recipes. 1/2C sour cream it says; very well, 1/2C sour cream I bought. —but I have a whole pound of spaghetti cooked— So! Some improvisation is in order.

!/2C sour cream and 1/2C fat free half and half is working very well.

I also added some jumbo shrimp while I was at it. 😊

All right, back to the ORIGINAL BLOG POST you go:

Not only do I cook ahead for the week on Saturdays to save time on busy evenings after work (yes, this makes enough for leftovers!), I also cooked my fettuccine ahead on Friday, this time. 

That usually works just fine. I cooked my Tinkyada fettuccine ahead, let it drain, then put it in a Tupperware. Before using it, I’m just going to put it in a colander and run hot water over it - if you agitate the pasta while you’re doing this, it usually loosens it up just fine!

I am using a LOT of fresh spinach here. I like spinach, and it cuts the calories of the pasta and the cream nicely! I’m going to call for 10oz in the recipe below - the recipe I’m basing this sauce on called for 5oz - and I’m using 20oz, so? Adjust spinach for taste, I guess, LoL.

Remember, though, how much fresh spinach cooks down! This was 20oz above, here, and after four minutes loosely covered in the microwave, it had cooked down to this below.

Now, since my pasta’s already done, I’m starting the sauce. The original recipe called for onion, so if you like onion go ahead and dice it up now. I’m cutting up my sun dried tomatoes with a very sharp chef’s knife. I didn’t realize I’d bought sun dried tomato halves instead of slivers! But sun dried tomatoes are - well - dried fruit, and just as tough to cut as anything else that’s dried!

Attack your knife with a sharpening steel (whetstone) before you try anything like this! And I found that I needed to keep it handy - these little dried tomatoes dulled the knife edge quick. I used the sharpening steel probably three or four times while I cut these up.

I did the sauce backwards, because that's what my original recipe said. I edited it, in the instructions below. From now on, I'm going to start the garlic first, in a skillet coated with olive oil pan spray. (Cast iron is almost always my preference for skillets!)  Once the garlic is fragrant, add your onion if you're using it and saute until softened. If you're like me and skipping the onion, go ahead and add your sun dried tomatoes and broth. Cook at a simmer until the broth is reduced slightly - which basically means let it simmer some of itself away! Turn the heat to low - as low as it will go - and let your skillet cool off until there are only small bubbles. Then add your sour cream, Parmesan, and butter.

Toss the sauce with the pasta and spinach in a mixing bowl and serve topped with the herbs! 

If you are cooking this ahead, like I am, I will reheat in the microwave with a little bit of fat free half and half stirred in  - that’s the kind of ‘cream’ I keep in the fridge for such things - and a little bit more Parmesan.

Notes on some of the GF ingredients I use:

• Tinkyada is my favorite GF pasta. I’ll use white rice noodles from the Oriental Market for Oriental dishes or stir fries/lo mein, but for Italian-type pastas I like Tinkyada best.
• The chicken broth: You’ve got to be super-careful of broths and bouillons. Most have wheat! I use Orrington  Farms broth base, both the chicken and the beef, because that’s marked GF. Kitchen Basics is a brand of broth sold in the carton that’s usually marked GF, too.
• Sour creams? Watch out for oat gum! I use the Daisy brand, the ‘Light’ one in this recipe, because the ingredients are so simple (cream, milk, vitamin A) and because it’s got a ‘Contains: Milk’ label on it.
• *Just as a random note, watch out for oat gum in yogurt too. 

I am using fresh herbs out of my garden, so I don’t have exact amounts on those! I’m using chives,  because I’m not using onion, and my parsley needed cut back, so I’m using a lot of parsley. Throw in whatever Italian herbs you’ve got!

FETTUCCINE AND SPINACH WITH SUN-DRIED CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients:

7oz Tinkyada fettuccine

10oz fresh spinach

Olive oil pan spray

Garlic to taste (I used several cloves)

2oz sun-dried tomatoes (1/4C if you bought the oil packed ones)

Onion, diced (if you like that sort of thing)

1C chicken broth 

1/2C sour cream

1/4C Parmesan, grated

1T butter

Fresh parsley and chives

Cook pasta according to package directions. (If you're using the Tinkyada fettuccine, I set my timer for eight minutes - which is not package directions, but there you go!)

While pasta is cooking, wilt your spinach. Place spinach in a large microwave-safe bowl and cover loosely; microwave three or four minutes, depending on your microwave. 

If you need to cut your sun dried tomatoes, do that now; dice your onion, too, if using. 

Coat the bottom of a skillet with pan spray. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. If you are using onions, add them now, and saute until softened. Add broth and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook at a simmer until broth is reduced by about half. Turn heat to low, and add sour cream, Parmesan and butter. Whisk while you add the Parmesan! 

Toss spinach, pasta, and sauce together. Top with fresh herbs and a bit more grated Parmesan. 

Servings: 4

Calories per serving: 290