View source for Pecan Spinach Pasta

 | [[Vegan cuisine|Vegan Cuisine]]


== Ingredients ==
* 500 grams [[pasta|pasta]] (ideally penne)
* 3 generous tablespoons of olive oil
* 2 large garlic cloves, chopped 
* 1 onion, sliced (ideally, a red onion)
* 3/4 cup [[Pecan|pecan]] halves
* 1 pack of frozen [[Spinach|spinach]], or, better, a moderate amount of fresh spinach.  If frozen spinach is used, consider steaming it quickly before using it in this recipe.
* Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
* Salt to taste
* Optional: feta or feta substitute

== Procedure ==

# Boil the pasta. Bring a pan of water to a boil and once it has a good rolling boil, put in the pasta.  Start checking it about 2 minutes before the amount of time specified on the package by tasting a piece.  A commonly held ideal for pasta is that it should be "al dente", which means a tiny, tiny bit undercooked, rather than soft and mushy; it does not mean raw.  Drain the pasta once it's done.)
# Simultaneously, make the sauce.
# In a cold skillet, combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic.  Put them on medium heat.
# After a brief amount of time, add the onion slices.
# Once the onion is slightly browned, add the pecan halves and sauté them for two minutes.
# Add the spinach.  
# Once the spinach is done, add salt.
# The original recipe contained 1 cup of feta.  I've never tried it that way, but if you're adventurous, you could consider adding a feta substitute; if you do, mix it in at the end.
# Put the sauce on the drained pasta and serve.  

This recipe can be a stand-alone meal; it's also good cold as a leftover.  It sometimes turns out a bit dry.

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