Rachael Ray's Creamy Pasta With Spinach and Fried Capers

Submitted by Mom2Rose

"Source: Rachael Ray (30 minute meal)"

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 453.59 g gemelli pasta or 453.59 g other short pasta
• 118.29 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 59.14 ml capers, drained
• 1 large garlic clove, smashed
• 473.18 ml packed spinach, stemmed and chopped
• 236.59 ml ricotta cheese
• 118.29 ml skim milk
• 29.58 ml fresh thyme leaves
• pepper
• 0.25 ml nutmeg (optional)

directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
2. Drain, reserving the pot.
3. While the pasta is working, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil, 8 turns of the pan, over medium heat.
4. Add the capers and fry until they open, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
6. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, 1 minute.
8. In the pasta pot, whisk the ricotta and milk over low heat until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Season with the thyme, some pepper and the nutmeg, if using.
10. Add the pasta and toss to coat.
11. Discard the garlic and stir the spinach into the pasta.
12. If desired, add some of the spinach oil from the skillet.
13. Top with the fried capers.

Reviews

[Elmotoo]

I doubled this to be sure to have leftovers & wow, am I glad I did! What a nice, easy, delicious recipe! THE CAPERS - OMG. quadruple the capers so you'll have have enough left for garnish after snacking on them. I could eat fried capers forever. They taste kind of mustardy. They are crunch & soft & the oil squishes out when you chew them OMG, so delicious. ok...I used 2 6oz bags baby spinach, unchopped. I also chopped the garlic & left it in. I had no fresh thyme so I compensated by freshly grating the nutmeg. ;) Everyone loved this dish & there's just about enough for lunch tomorrow. Thank you! Made for Aussie Swap 3/14.

 

[Suse40]

The fried capers made this dish! Do not skip the step about frying the capers. Thanks Rachel Ray for showing me a new taste treat. I really combined this recipe and 57123-Creamy Swiss Chard Pasta and the result was very good. I added the cheesiness to the pasta like Rachel Ray, but I used some light cream cheese that I thinned a bit with milk--I had some leftover and needed to use it up, and the result was creamy and good, but ricotta would really be awesome. I used bowtie pasta, added the cream cheese and parmesan to the hot pasta after draining. For the vegetable portion, I used chopped swiss chard, celery, onion and garlic, like #57123. I also added a can of diced tomatoes and kicked it up with Italian spice and a chopped hot pepper. The result was beautiful, and smelled and tasted terrific. Very versatile--you can add and subtract whatever you have on hand. Just don't forget the capers!

 

[Rita1652]

This is a very quick and easy meal to prepare. I had to wait for the pasta. So I prepare the capers set aside then cooked chopped garlic and added the spinach. Didn`t remove garlic, we enjoy it. Then added to the spinach the milk and cheese along with herbs and seasonings. Then when pasta was cooked added right to the cheese mixture. I did add some Parmesan Romano to the cheese sauce. If you enjoy caper this is the recipe for you! Delish. Thanks.