Spinach pesto pasta with olives

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Good Food

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1. Boil the pasta according to pack instructions. Meanwhile, boil a kettle of water, then slowly pour over the spinach in a colander until it wilts. Shake off the excess water, then put the spinach into a food processor.
2. Add the garlic, oil, half of the cheese and most of the pine nuts to the processor with the spinach, then pulse to a pesto-like sauce. Season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper. Stir through the hot, drained pasta and serve topped with the olives and the remaining crumbled cheese and pine nuts.

Tip

To add even more flavour to the pesto, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden, then blend as before.

Per serving

602 kcalories, protein 25g, carbohydrate 80g, fat 23 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 7g, salt 1.29 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• Veggie!!

  19 November 2007

  Veggie!! rated this recipe

  

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• Hazel

  06 January 2008

  Hazel rated and commented on this recipe

  

  The spinach pesto was delicous, but the next time I will reduce the amount of feta crumbled on top - just a little too much for my tastes.

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• Haile

  18 January 2008

  Haile commented on this recipe

  It was absolutley delicious, the garlic and cheese brought out the strong flavour A*

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• Agne

  18 February 2008

  Agne rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I used parmesan instead of feta and was surprised how good this dish was, especially as it is so simple and quick to make!

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• florence

  10 May 2008

  florence rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Not as tasty as I was hoping will try walnuts next time :(

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• Dana

  01 July 2008

  Dana rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I used goat's cheese instead of feta and it was delicious! It's a quick mid-week dinner.

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• becky

  29 August 2008

  becky commented on this recipe

  Mmmm this was a super good easy pasta dish for a quick supper, will defo add to my regulars

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• rebecca

  04 January 2009

  rebecca rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I (veggie)made this for my two (meat eating) housemates - a mixd success. I liked it (although it does go cold very quickly), but the others thought it was wet and too spinachy!

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• Suzi Harrison

  19 June 2009

  Suzi Harrison commented on this recipe

  This is a lovely recipe but I'm not a huge fan of feta cheese so instead I make it with goats cheese and also add a few mushrooms on top, mmmmm!

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• cookingforcock.com

  31 August 2009

  cookingforcock.com commented on this recipe

  I made this last night for a Greek friend who loves feta and we gobbled it up with pleasure. In terms of preparation, the spinach was much easier to work with than an all-basil pesto, which usually requires a lot of oil (the spinach releases more water.) I added about six fresh basil leaves from the plant on my balcony and it really infused the spinach pesto with a nice kick. Instead of the olives, I garnished the pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes, which made the bright green pesto really pop. My Greek pal loved the extra crumbled feta, per the recipe, but I preferred to use grated parmesan on top only. A new staple for me. Thanks!

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• bevmurray

  05 November 2009

  bevmurray rated and commented on this recipe

  

  The first time I made this a couple of years ago I misread the instructions and didn't wilt the spinach. I then made it again wilting and squeezing out the spinach and the result was a much runnier consistency. Either tastes great and goes down well with my young children but if you want to skip a step then don't worry about not wilting the spinach!

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Ingredients

• 400g fusilli
• 500g bag spinach
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g pack reduced-fat feta-style cheese
• 50g pine nuts
• good pinch nutmeg
• handful black olives , roughly chopped

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 5 mins

Cook 15 mins

Ingredients

• 400g fusilli
• 500g bag spinach
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g pack reduced-fat feta-style cheese
• 50g pine nuts
• good pinch nutmeg
• handful black olives , roughly chopped

Per serving

602 kcalories, protein 25g, carbohydrate 80g, fat 23 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 7g, salt 1.29 g

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