Green Alien Guts (aka Popeye Pasta aka Spinach Spaghetti)

by Dorothy Reinhold on October 9, 2014


Print This Post Print This Post Popeye Pasta | Spaghetti with Spinach Sauce | ShockinglyDelicious.com

Few meals are as universally accepted as pasta, yet sometimes simple pasta with red sauce isn’t quite sophisticated enough for adults.

They, unlike kids, tire of it and long for other flavors. But once adults start with the add-ins (Kalamata olives? Mushrooms? Sausage? Onions?) many kids will push the plate away.

To the rescue comes a verdant pasta that squeaks of loud-and-proud spinach and perhaps improbably appeals to both kids and adults. It’s a clean flavor, simple yet elegant.

We can call it Spinach Spaghetti, Green Alien Guts, Incredible Hulk Innards Macaroni, Popeye Pasta, or whatever name might appeal to your youngest gross-out eaters. Toss a few home-grown cherry tomatoes on top, for fun.

Popeye Pasta | Spaghetti with Spinach Sauce | ShockinglyDelicious.comIf it has the label Green Alien Guts on my menu plan, consult the calendar, because it just might be Halloween!

Popeye Pasta (aka Spinach Spaghetti)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

A pasta dish that both adults and kids will like, especially if you call it Green Guts or Incredible Hulk Innards. The only hiding this spinach does is in the name!

Ingredients

  • 1 (12-ounce) box Barilla White Fiber Mini Rotini
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (I used Arianna Trading Company Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
  • 1 tablespoon Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic Paste (or 2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced)
  • 1 pound spinach leaves (I used Cut ‘N Clean Greens Curly Spinach
  • Sea salt
  • Pepper
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese (plus more for serving)
  • Red pepper flakes

Directions

  1. Start the pasta cooking: Heat a big pot of water and season with salt. When boiling, add pasta, and cook until al dente. With this particular pasta, it only takes 4 minutes to reach al dente!
  2. While waiting for pasta water to boil, heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Add the spinach leaves and sauté with the garlic until wilted. This should only take 1 minute or so. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
  3. Make sauce: Add the wilted spinach and cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Whirl until pasty.
  4. When pasta is done, drain, reserving 1 cup of the boiling pasta water. Return hot pasta to the pasta pot and cover.
  5. Finish sauce: With food processor running, add at least half of the pasta water, whirling until the spinach mixture is saucy. Add sauce back onto the pot with pasta, and stir to combine. If it looks dry, add more of the reserved pasta water until it looks right to you.
  6. Serve, and pass additional grated cheese and red pepper flakes at the table.
  7. Serves 4.

Notes

Recipe source: Slightly adapted from Erren’s Kitchen. Thanks, Erren, for delicious dinner inspiration!

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/popeye-pasta/

Popeye Pasta | Spaghetti with Spinach Sauce | ShockinglyDelicious.comCut N Clean Greens Spinach BagFor this recipe, I have used triple-washed spinach in a bag, ready to go. It makes it so easy to work greens into my meals. I bought the spinach myself, although I do some consulting work for Cut ‘N Clean Greens. Just thought you ought to know that I put my money where my mouth is. And since spinach is 80%-90% water, its volume decreases greatly when it is wilted or cooked, which surprises many cooks who start out with a skillet overflowing with fresh greens and finish with a small but delicious pile.  😀

{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

Jade November 4, 2019 at 6:41 am

This looks delicious and the name makes it all the better!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 18, 2019 at 6:23 pm

Jade,
I was hoping people wouldn’t be grossed out by the name. That’s the whole key!

Reply

Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert November 1, 2019 at 8:23 pm

YUM!!! I love this spaghetti delicious version!!!

Reply

Katerina @ diethood .com November 1, 2019 at 12:33 pm

My family would LOVE this!! It looks incredibly delicious!!

Reply

Annie November 1, 2019 at 6:46 am

Oh my goodness what a fun Halloween treat!

Reply

Stephanie October 31, 2019 at 11:05 pm

My kids loved this! Such a great idea!

Reply

Kimberly October 31, 2019 at 10:11 pm

LOL! Calling it that may be just the ticket to get picky little eaters to eat their veggies! 🙂

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold November 18, 2019 at 6:24 pm

Kimberly,
‘zactly!

Reply

Beth October 31, 2019 at 9:10 pm

My kids would eat this any day of the week! It’s so good!

Reply

Patti @ Worth The Whisk October 15, 2014 at 4:07 pm

Everything about this sounds delicious. And funny.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold October 16, 2014 at 9:20 am

Patti,
We aim to amuse…

Reply

Oakley October 9, 2014 at 2:12 pm

LOL Love the fun idea! And that looks delicious.

But as a major nerd, I probably should point out that we’ll never see the Hulk’s innards because he’s indestructible. 😉

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold October 9, 2014 at 8:26 pm

Oakley,
You win! I sort of didn’t know that.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold October 13, 2014 at 5:40 pm

Betsy/Desserts,
Your son would like this, I predict!

Reply

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: