It's been a little busy, but I'm finally posting our yummy Valentine's Day dinner and dessert. Dinner today, dessert later =)
I got this recipe from my sister-in-law a while back. It’s a knockoff recipe from a restaurant, and it is sooooo yummy! It’s perfect for a date night, since it is best made in single servings. It’s not hard, but it feels fancy, and it’s quite healthy for you, too.
Pasta Fresca (for two)
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups cooked whole-wheat penne (or whatever you have) pasta
½ small onion, sliced
1 chicken breast, grilled and sliced
1 ½ cups spinach leaves
½ cup tomato, chopped
feta cheese, to taste
Just about everything for this can be done ahead of time, earlier in the day. Cook the pasta, and sprinkle a bit of olive oil over it so it doesn’t stick before storing. Slice the onions and tomatoes and store in separate containers. Cook the chicken, cool it, slice it, and store it in the fridge. Even measure out your spinach and place in a separate container. You can also get the fresca sauce ready:
Fresca Sauce:
1 cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup white grape juice
½ tsp salt
2 tsp minced garlic
Combine all the ingredients in a jar. This can keep in the fridge for quite a long time without spoiling. It will solidify a bit, so if you know you are going to be making this, take the jar out in the morning so it can warm to room temperature.
When you are ready to cook, heat two pans, with 1 tsp olive oil each, over medium heat on the stove. Make sure they are up to temperature before adding one cup of pasta to each. Let the pasta heat up and then add ½ the onion to each pan. Saute, stirring frequently until onion is tender. Add ½ the chicken to each pan and heat thoroughly.
Meanwhile, place ½ the spinach in two separate bowls. Once each pasta mixture is ready, pour into the two bowls over the spinach. Spoon some of the fresca sauce (not too much!) over each bowl and combine the spinach and pasta thoroughly, adding the fresh tomatoes in the process. The heat from the pasta along with the fresca sauce will help the spinach start to wilt.
Pour into the serving dishes and top with as much feta cheese as you like. If you haven’t tried feta before, be sure to try it here. It really makes this dish what it is. And remember, a little feta goes a long way. Feta cheese will also keep in the fridge for a long time.
I wouldn’t recommend this for a date, unless you are married and already familiar with each others bad breath, and it doesn’t bother you =)
