Pasta with Spinach and Shallots

I started this column with the hope that other students would be willing to eat more sustainably sourced and plant-based foods once they saw that “it is so easy a college student can do it.” Here’s to our health and the planet’s!Anyway, this quarter will be exciting because a lot more fresh produce is coming into season! At the indoor farmers market at Immanuel Lutheran Church last weekend, I found spinach and shallots. Shallots, which look a bit like a bulb of garlic on the outside, are a root vegetable comparable to an onion, but a bit sweeter.

This super simple recipe should take less than 30 minutes - perfect for college students! (Plus, it’s vegan.)

Pasta with Spinach and Shallots

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

6-8 cups spinach, rinsed and with stems cut off

½ lb pasta (your choice)

2 shallots (or any onion - depending on what’s in season)

2 garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon minced)

Olive or grapeseed oil

1. The longest part of this recipe is boiling the pasta, so go ahead and start boiling a pot of water (salted if that’s your preference).*
2. While the water is coming to a boil, peel and mince the shallots and garlic, and cut spinach into smaller strips. **
3. Once the water is boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.
4. Coat a sauté pan in a thin layer of oil and sauté shallots and garlic over medium-low heat until they are soft (about 5 minutes).
5. Then, add the spinach to the pan and sauté until wilted which should take about two minutes.
6. Finally, drain pasta and stir in spinach (along with garlic and shallots) and add salt to taste. Or some cheese if you eat dairy.

*Reminder: The best way to become a better cook is by learning from your mistakes. Speaking of mistakes, I was reminded while making this recipe that it is near impossible to fit half a box of spaghetti into a pot of boiling water. I forgot to break up the spaghetti and ended up with half of it sticking out of the water and then an annoying process of trying to shove it the rest of the way in the pot while it kept popping back up.

**Another reminder: If you have large pieces of spinach, it’s important to cut them up before sautéing because otherwise you will end up with huge pieces of spinach unevenly spaced throughout the dish.