Monday, September 6, 2010

Ziti with spinach, cherry tomatoes and gorgonzola sauce

Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce

Gorgonzola, an Italian blue cheese, gives this grown-up mac and cheese dish pungent flavor. If you'd like to make it more family-friendly, substitute your favorite blue or other creamy cheese. You can also substitute penne or rigatoni for ziti.

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients

  • 4  ounces  uncooked ziti
  • 1/2  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1  cup  cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/8  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
  • 1  garlic clove, minced
  • 6  tablespoons  half-and-half
  • 3  tablespoons  Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
  • 1  cup  fresh spinach

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper, and minced garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in half-and-half and Gorgonzola cheese; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in spinach and pasta; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, tossing occasionally.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 335 (28% from fat)
Fat: 10.4g (sat 5.9g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 12.3g
Carbohydrate: 49.9g
Fiber: 3.6g
Cholesterol: 26mg
Iron: 2.6mg
Sodium: 485mg
Calcium: 129mg

This dish was delicious! Bob said it tastes like it belongs at Olive Garden. Don’t be afraid of the Gorgonzola, it made a smooth cream sauce, not pungent or strong at all. I used Rigatoni (couldn’t find any ziti at our store). We had extra people over, so I tripled the recipe and it easily fed 6 adults and 2 kids. Serve it with breadsticks and salad for a complete meal.

3 comments:

Laura said...

That looks so good! I am going to try it.

X said...

Since it's 2 servings, you don't have to change the recipe, this is a great one for families of 2!

Anonymous said...

├ This recipe is hard to muck up, even if you do fiddle around with ingredients. ┤