Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Greens and Cherry Tomatoes

Spaghetti with Greens and Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

Serves 4

11 oz / 320 gr whole wheat spaghetti

1 lb / 450 gr turnip greens (you can also use kale, spinach, or collard greens)

1 cup / 5.3 oz / 150 gr cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

1 small chili pepper, finely chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

grated Parmesan cheese (if you’re not vegan)

Directions

Thoroughly wash the turnip greens (or other greens you’re using). Trim the larger stems, and roughly chop the leaves.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the chopped turnip greens and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Fish them out with a slotted spoon, keeping the water in the pot for the pasta.

Place the unpeeled garlic clove on a chopping board. Place the blade of a large, wide knife on top of the clove. Using the palm of your hand, press the blade down onto the clove, crushing it and splitting the skin.

In a large skillet heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, add garlic, and chili pepper. Saute’ for 2 minutes until everything is fragrant. Stir in the turnip greens and saute’ for 30 seconds or so. You want the turnip greens to absorb the flavors but at the same time you don’t want them to get bitter, which happens if you leave stir fry for too long. Finally, add the cherry tomatoes and turn the heat off.

Cook the spaghetti al dente, drain reserving a little bit of the cooking water.

Add pasta to the skillet and saute’ over high heat for 30 seconds to one minute, adding some of the reserved cooking water if looks too dry.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with a drizzle of olive oil (and some grated parmesan cheese, if you’re not vegan).