SPAGHETTI WITH GARLIC, CHILLI AND SPINACH

Good Morning to you,

To everything, turn, turn, turn,

There is a season, turn, turn, turn,

.... and my, is the season turning. We had our first taste of Autumn yesterday..... it was cold, so very cold.  The North wind blew and the rain came down and for the first time in quite a while, I wore my coat, scarf and gloves.... that felt strange, as we have enjoyed  some beautiful, summer weather in the past couple of months.  As I look out of my window, I can see people passing by, wrapped up in their winter coats, on their way to the newsagents, to collect their morning papers.

Tuesdays are an odd day for me, as when I return home from my sewing group, I am always hungry.  I have decided it's because I am up that little bit earlier and I have my breakfast at seven, whereas normally, I would potter around a little and then eat breakfast at 9.30ish.  One thing is certain, I am always ready to eat, the moment I step inside the door.

So yesterday I made myself some fast food,

Spaghetti with garlic, chilli and spinach

and it has to be said, I was really content afterwards.

So it is on with the apron and the music I have chosen to listen to today is,

Harry Connick Jnr.  I  love his slow,  relaxed  style  of singing.   Listen to "Between Us" you will love it.

If you are ready, the ingredients we will need for this quick meal are,

INGREDIENTS

A quarter of a packet of dried spaghetti,

I chose to use whole wheat spaghetti today.

1 clove of garlic

and

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

4 tablespoons of olive oil

one teaspoon of sea salt

and

one teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

50g fresh baby spinach

2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 red onion

METHOD

Heat a pan of salted water

and

cook the spaghetti as directed by the manufacturer.

Make sure the spaghetti is al dente (has a little bite to it)

Whilst the spaghetti is cooking,

finely slice the red onion

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan,

add the onions and cook over a moderate heat.

Cook until the onions take on a golden colour

Crush the garlic and

add to the pan.

Cook for a  minute

Add the chilli flakes,

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

and cook for a further two minutes.

When the spaghetti is cooked, drain, and add to the

pan with the browned onions.

Toss together

Wash the baby spinach

and

add to the spaghetti and toss together.

Pop a lid on the pan, as this will help retain the heat,
 so that the spinach wilts.

If the spinach does not wilt after a couple of minutes,

return to a low heat, for a minute or so.

Once the spinach has wilted, remove from the heat.

Grate 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

and

add to the spaghetti, then toss together

At this point I drizzle over a couple of tablespoons of olive oil

and toss again.

Once you have plated your spaghetti,
as a final flourish,
finely grate just a little more Parmesan cheese over
the spaghetti,

.... and there you have it, a quick and easy lunch for two.  When we eat spaghetti at lunch time, we only have a light snack for supper.  

You may feel there are a lot of steps to this dish, but trust me, this is a quick dish. Do you know, I have even been known, to slice the onions the night before, to make this dish even quicker to make, but you will find that as soon as the spaghetti is cooked, the meal is practically ready..... so it takes about 20 minutes from start to finish..... not bad for an enjoyable  meal.

If you prefer a little more liquid with this garlic, chilli and spinach spaghetti, then you can always add small halved tomatoes to the dish at the same time as you add the chilli and this will create a little sauce for you.

Just to let you know, this Sunday, I had fully intended cooking with the Preserved Lemons, but they are not quite ready yet, so I have decided to give them a couple of more weeks to mature and then I shall be making a Tagine.

On a final note, I am slowly, but surely catching up with my emails, but I have decided that if you are kind enough to leave a comment, then I will respond in the reply section of my blog.  This way I am certain that I have replied to each and everyone of you.  

So take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Kim at Savvy Southern Style

and

Yvonne at StoneGable
and
D at The Shady Porch