Meatless Friday: Orecchiette with Pine Nuts and Wilted Spring Greens

For Meatless Friday, Barb Szyszkiewicz shares the result of a cooking experiment that helped her use up leftover spring greens. Download our printable recipe card!

I’m tired of throwing out salad I buy with the best of intentions and then don’t eat. And my younger son bought salad in addition to the salad I bought, to put in his lunches … so we had containers of spinach and greens everywhere. So I’ve been trying to add greens to other things and avoid wasting all that goodness. I made this recipe for two, but it's easy to double.

If pine nuts are not in the budget or hard to find, slivered almonds would also work well in this recipe.

Orecchiette with Pine Nuts and Wilted Spring Greens

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

4 oz. orecchiette or other pasta (shells, cellentani or small rigatoni would work well)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp pine nuts
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
4 cups spring greens with spinach or other small greens
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining, reserve 1/4 cup pasta water if needed for the pan sauce.
Heat a small skillet until hot, then add olive oil. When oil is shimmering, add onion and sauté until softened. Add garlic, red pepper, and pine nuts, stirring until fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter until butter melts.
Drain pasta and return to put with the greens and the onion mixture. Stir until well combined and the greens are wilted, adding small amounts of pasta water if needed. Sprinkle sea salt and lemon zest over top before serving.

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