Description
This easy and light Pasta Fresca is loaded with flavor from a white wine-balsamic sauce. It gets added freshness and flavor from parsley, Roma tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. It's a delicious pasta dinner that comes together quickly and doesn't require much effort. Ready in under 20 minutes!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 10 ounces gluten-free pasta (such as farfalle or penne)
Fresca Sauce
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons sweet white wine
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Veggies
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 head roasted garlic
- 4 roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach, chopped
- Optional: 1/4 cup parmesan cheese*
- Optional: freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.
- Prepare the sauce. While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, in a small bowl whisk together fresca sauce ingredients (olive oil, white wine, balsamic, parsley and salt) until well-blended.
- Sauté the veggies. In a large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Sear the pasta. Add the cooked pasta and turn the heat up to sear the noodles briefly until golden brown (we are slightly pan-frying the pasta). Add more oil if needed.
- Add the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
- Bring it all together. Turn the burner down to low, add the roasted garlic cloves, the fresca sauce and fresh spinach to the sauté pan and toss for 3-5 minutes until well combined. The spinach leaves should start to slightly wilt (do not overcook). Smash the roasted garlic cloves with the back of a fork to break them up and dissolve them into the oil sauce. Taste and if the wine or vinegar taste too strong, continue to cook for a couple minutes longer to mellow out those flavors a bit.
- Serve. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish with parmesan cheese, black pepper and/or red pepper flakes.
Notes
*Vegan swap - How to Quickly Make Vegan Parmesan Cheese
To make a batch of my favorite vegan parmesan, simply whisk these three ingredients together: ¾ cup almond flour (super fine from blanched whole almonds - not almond meal) + 5 teaspoons nutritional yeast + 1 teaspoon fine salt.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian