Spinach Avocado Pasta

Avocado is an incredibly nutritious fruit – its good for your heart, has lots of fiber as well as vitamins and minerals. However, it is also quite expensive. So when I saw it on sale a few weeks ago, I jumped on the opportunity and bought a few avocados. I generally eat it with salads or spread it on toast sprinkled with some salt and pepper, but I had to get more creative to use them all up before they would go bad. I had some spinach on hand, so I decided to make pasta sauce with spinach and avocado. Its flavored with basil and garlic which pairs well with the creaminess of the avocado. Like everything else made using avocado, this is best eaten fresh. I made it for lunch and had leftovers for dinner. The color got darker due to the avocado, but it still tasted the same!



Ingredients:

1.5 cups dry pasta of your choice (I used Farfalle/bowtie)

½ avocado

¾ cup fresh spinach (reduce quantity if using frozen)

½ tsp chopped garlic (~1 clove)

1 tsp chopped basil

2 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)

½ tsp oil/butter

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan cheese (optional) 

Cook pasta as per package instructions. While pasta is cooking, heat oil/butter on medium heat and saute garlic for a few seconds before adding spinach and basil. Cook only until spinach is slightly wilted (30-60 seconds), and take it off the heat. Transfer the spinach mixture to a food processor along with avocado and lemon juice. Process until you get a smooth paste. Add water or olive oil if it is too thick. Add salt, pepper to taste. Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta, top it with any vegetables you like. I only had tomatoes at home, but sautéed mushroom, broccoli, asparagus would taste great with this sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese (optional – I didn’t use any), squeeze more lemon juice on top if you like, and enjoy the delicious creamy pasta without any cream!

~Gayatri