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Super Green Pasta

SAVE ✓ SAVED ADD TO MEAL PLAN PRINT

This recipe has been in the development stage for a long time. We couldn't get the green sauce quite right until we added our friend, broccoli! Our tasters of all ages agreed --- this super green pasta is a super yum!

Ingredients

Food
Amt
Units
Prep
Notes
1 lbs broccoli, roughly chopped (peeled stems and florets)
broccoli
1
lbs
roughly chopped
peeled stems and florets
2 cups fresh spinach, packed
fresh spinach
2
cups
packed
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
garlic cloves
2
finely chopped
4 tablespoons salted butter, cut into slices
salted butter
4
tablespoons
cut into slices
1 tablespoon capers, drained
capers
1
tablespoon
drained
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
red pepper flakes
¼
teaspoon
1 teaspoon salt
salt
1
teaspoon
¼ teaspoon black pepper
black pepper
¼
teaspoon
1 lemon (zest only)
lemon
1
zest only
12 ounces spinach linguine
spinach linguine
12
ounces
1 zucchini, cut into zoodles with a julienne cutter or spiralizer
zucchini
1
cut into zoodles with a julienne cutter or spiralizer
½ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated (plus extra for topping)
parmesan cheese
½
cup
finely grated
plus extra for topping
10 ounces frozen peas (1 10 oz bag, cooked per package instructions)
frozen peas
10
ounces
1 10 oz bag, cooked per package instructions

Method

  1. In a large pot, bring 5 quarts of water, plus 2 tbs of salt to a boil. Add all the chopped broccoli to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Check a piece of stem to make sure it is cooked to full tenderness. Add spinach and stir until wilted.
  2. Using a small fine mesh strainer or slotted spoon, transfer all the cooked broccoli and spinach to a blender. Pull out and reserve 1 cup of cooking water from the pot and leave the rest boiling to cook the pasta.
  3. Break the spinach linguine in half and drop into the boiling water, cook for the recommended time on the package. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the zucchini noodles. Drain and stir in a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
  4. While the pasta is cooking, add the garlic, butter, seasonings, lemon zest, parmesan cheese and reserved cooking water to the blender. Puree until smooth.
  5. Serve pasta with green sauce, cooked green peas, and extra parmesan on top. Any extra sauce can be saved in the refrigerator and used in lots of ways!
Babyfood Option:

We love introducing green foods to babies early and with this dish, broccoli and spinach elevate the nutritional value. Also, recipes with dairy products are a good source of protein and fat for babies. This recipe tends to be soft so you can blend it smooth (adding more sauce if needed). As your baby is more comfortable with texture you can blend less or smash with a fork. As your baby moves into finger foods you can cut the finished recipe into tiny finger sized bites to pick up. Talk to your pediatrician if you have concerns about food allergies.

Prep time
30 min
Cook time
15 min
Yields/Serves:
8
Nutrition Information

Yum Ratings

😫😟😐😀😍 “I like the peas in it!” —Everly, age 7
😫😟😐😀😍 “I love it! It's green! But I don't like the peas! (even though he ate them and had 3 helpings!) —Flynn, Age 4
😫😟😐😀😍 “I like all the green stuff!” —Norah, Age 4
😫😟😐😀😍 “The sauce was so good” —Wren, age 4
😫😟😐😀😍 “It's all good!” —Camiyah, age 4
😫😟😐😀😍 “Very tasty! The lemon was very good in it!” —Jasmine, a grown up