Recipe-in-a-Flash: Spinach and Feta Bowtie Pasta

Here’s a terrific weeknight recipe you can toss together in about 30 minutes. The combination of the salty feta cheese and the bright lemon zest hit just the right notes. The recipe calls for chopped fresh dill but I didn’t have any and didn’t feel like making another supermarket run; it was an excellent dish regardless but I’m sure the anise-like flavor of dill would add another level of deliciousness. I loved this dish so much I made it two nights in a row!

As the recipe from The Washington Post mentions, you could throw in some sliced, grilled boneless chicken breast or cooked chickpeas to add protein. 

I enjoyed it with a recently discovered New Zealand sauvignon blanc, Sea Pearl. Highly recommend if you can find it. It’s light and refreshing, with a bit of tart citrus-lemony notes. At an average price of $12-14, this will be a great everyday summer wine.

Spinach and Feta Bowtie Pasta (The Washington Post Nourish column)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Fine salt

8 oz dried bowtie (farfalle) pasta

1 TB olive oil

1 large clove garlic, minced or finely grated

12 oz baby spinach, rinsed

2 TB chopped fresh dill

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (about 1 TB)

3/4 C (3 oz) finely crumbled feta cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and cook, stirring once or twice, until the garlic is soft but not browned, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the spinach, in batches if necessary, stirring as needed. Cover and cook just until the spinach wilts, for 2-3 minutes. Uncover and increase the heat as needed to cook off/evaporate any accumulated liquid in pan.

Transfer the spinach to the bowl with the pasta. Add the dill, lemon zest, and feta cheese and toss to mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve right away or at room temperature. 

Storage notes: refrigerate for up to three days.