Spinach Fettuccine

This past weekend for our “Sunday pasta” the husband requested a white sauce. I have a tried and true Alfredo Sauce that I always use and we all like a lot, but this time I decided to try something new. You know, if you repeat a recipe too much you start to get tired of it, and I don’t want that to happen with a favorite of ours. Plus, I wanted to have some added veggies to the dish, this way I would not need to have too many pots and pans cooking in the stove, it is still summer and a little warm here after all!
This Spinach Fettuccine recipe was exactly what I wanted and pleased us all, with pasta and vegetable rounded up in one dish!
It was relatively simple to make, but I had to make a few adjustments based on what I had on hand. I used a different creamy cheese, and Parmesan instead of Romano (what I had at home), and used milk with a little bit extra flour in place of the half-half, just because I didn’t have any at home, but I am pretty sure half and half would have made it even better!
I made half recipe for the sauce and used 1/3-pound whole-wheat spaghetti pasta (we like sauce!), plus I used fresh spinach that I had hanging around in the fridge.
It sounds like a lot of changes (and it was, now that I am writing it down…), but let me tell you, my substitutions worked well, because there was nothing but happy faces left at the end of the meal!
The sauce was delicious, very tasty and the spinach complemented it well, it really tasted great in there!
Oh, and let me not forget my major substitution… I sprinkled our pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, as I cannot stomach bacon in any form (and I wanted it to look like the picture in the magazine...). However, if you like the taste of it, then go ahead and indulge, I guess it would be a nice addition for those who happen to like it.
I served this dish with grilled chicken breasts. Yummy pasta for a happy Sunday meal!
Ana

Spinach Fettuccine (Cooking Light/August 2006)
1 pound uncooked fettuccine
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
10 center-cut bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Cook pasta according to package instructions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add reserved pasta water and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth.
Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk to combine; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add pecorino Romano, stirring until smooth. Add half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach. Combine cheese mixture and pasta in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Place about 1 cup pasta mixture in each of 8 bowls; top each serving with 2 1/2 tablespoons bacon. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Yield: 8 servings