so my dad gave me an italian cookbook for christmas. the recipes are simple (which i need right now … sigh …) and really quite tasty. i modify them here and there, like this one …

fettucine with sundried tomatoes

spinach fettucine with sundried tomatoes and gorgonzola (as usual, this makes a lot … cut it in half and you could still feed 3-4 people.)

start to finish: about a half hour …

1 pkg spinach (about 8 oz. or so) … rinsed and drained

1 cup low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt

1 pint cottage cheese

1 cup crumbled gorgonzola (about 4 ounces)

4 oz. (or so) sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and cut into strips (RESERVE THE OIL!)

16 oz. spinach fettucine, cooked and drained

pepper to taste

OPTIONAL: shredded or sliced skinless chicken breasts … i’ve sliced leftover chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken … i’ll also slice chicken breasts i’ve roasted in the oven, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and olive oil. BUT this recipe is just as hearty without the meat.

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1. wilt the spinach in a large saute pan: put the rinsed spinach in the pan, with only whatever water is left on the leaves from rinsing. cover the pan and cook on the low side of med/low heat until the spinach is wilted. this only takes about five minutes or so. drain and coarsely chop the wilted spinach. set aside. wipe out saute pan.

(1.a.) i’m boiling the water for the pasta while the spinach is wilting, and while the sauce is cooking, i am cooking the fettucine. after i drain the pasta, i put it back in the pot and stir in the oil from the sundried tomatoes. doing this adds extra flavor and keeps the pasta from sticking together.

2. combine yogurt and cottage cheese in a mixing bowl and stir the heck out of it to break down the cottage cheese curds, but don’t break your arm over it. (combine it in a blender if you prefer a super-smooth sauce … i don’t do this because i don’t want to have to clean the blender, and a little texture from the curds is fine with us.) cook it in the saute pan on med/low heat, stirring pretty regularly for about five minutes. turn the heat up a bit and add the crumbled gorgonzola. cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese melts into the sauce … about 5-7 minutes. (it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, though. again, we like the texture.)

3. add the chopped, wilted spinach and the sliced sundried tomatoes (and chicken, if applicable) to the sauce. add pepper. stir well to break up the spinach and get everything nicely combined. cook for another five minutes.

4. add the fettucine, coated with the sundried-tomato oil. fold the pasta with the sauce and cook about 3-5 minutes, or until the pasta is heated through.

5. wolf down!

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and a quick note on the sauce … i modified this recipe quite a bit — changing measurements, using oil-packed sundried tomatoes, and adding the spinach and chicken — but one thing i didn’t change was the sauce base of cottage cheese and yogurt. now, i do NOT like cottage cheese, and when i first saw this recipe, i wanted to give it a pass. i mean a cream sauce without the cream? and what about pounds of cheese? … but after seeing (and tasting) the depth of flavor yogurt adds to indian cuisine, i reserved judgment on the cottage cheese issue and took the plunge … how glad i did! now when i think of pasta and cream sauce, i remember i can whip up a sauce base that is quick and healthful.