Crema di Spinaci
It’s the week leading up to my graduation, which of course means that I’m super nostalgic. This recipe feels representative of my whole Master’s experience, so I wanted to share it as this chapter of my life comes to a close.
I learned how to make this sauce from my friend Luca. He lived just around the corner from our faculty’s building, so more often than not, we would cook lunch at his place between classes. This was a novel luxury for me, after having done my Bachelor’s degree in New York City, where I balanced classes, extracurriculars, and multiple jobs and internships. I would leave my house by 9am, and often didn’t return until late at night, so I rarely had time for a home cooked dinner, never mind a proper lunch break.
I think we ate this spinach sauce at least once a week all winter 2018-19, partially due to the abundance of spinach in the winter markets. It’s fast to make, not too heavy, and easily adaptable for vegans as well. Luca is also vegetarian, just like I am! In fact, I have far more vegetarian and vegan friends in Italy than I ever had living in New York. Thanks to them, I learned a lot about vegetarian Italian cuisine (both adapted traditional recipes, and more modern takes that still value simplicity and local produce).
We always made this sauce with dried pasta, usually fusilli. But, I think any short-cut semola variety goes well, so for this variation I decided to make fresh cavatelli.
I don’t always use the same ratios of flour(s) to water when I make eggless pasta, but this time I used:
150g semola rimacinata di grano duro
100g 00 flour
125g warm water
Once the dough has been made and rested (following the technique listed here), roll the pasta into long ropes, cut into pieces, and roll each piece on your work surface, off the back of a fork, or on a ridged wooden board to create texture.
For the sauce, you will need:
olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced*
crushed red pepper flakes
300g fresh spinach
salt and pepper (to taste)
125-150ml cream (either dairy or vegan work fine)
*sometimes, in place of the onion, we would use 1-2 cloves of garlic, gently cooked down with the spinach. You can also feel free to experiment with a mix of dark leafy greens.
Start cooking in your onion (or garlic) in about a tablespoon of olive oil until slightly softened. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes, to taste, and cook for a few more minutes.
Next, add in your cleaned fresh spinach, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until the spinach is wilted down. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to a boil.
Over a low flame, add in your cream. Start with about 125ml, and save the rest for later to use if needed. The consistency of the sauce can vary depending on how much water remains in your spinach.
4. Once the cream is warmed through, blend the spinach/onion/cream mixture until smooth, then pour it back into your pan. If the mixture seems especially thick, you can add in the remaining 25ml of cream. Alternatively, you can loosen the sauce with pasta water, which keeps things a bit lighter.
5. Cook your pasta in salted water, then transfer it into the pan with the sauce. Ladle in pasta water, as needed, and cook together over a low flame for a minute or two.
6. Serve immediately. Garnish with a few extra pepper flakes if you like, or with a sprinkle of a hard, grated cheese (I prefer Pecorino Romano).
