Curly Pasta With Spinach And Chickpeas

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 1/2 lbs fresh spinach, stemmed and washed well
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 ounces pancetta, cut into thin strips
• 4 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 lb curly spaghetti, broken in half or 1 lb fusilli, col buco broken in half
• 1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 heat a large skillet. gradually add the fresh spinach and cook over moderately high heat, stirring between additions, until wilted.
• 2 transfer the spinach to a colander and rinse under cold water, then gently squeeze fairly dry.
• 3 coarsely chop the spinach.
• 4 in the same skillet, heat the olive oil. add the pancetta and garlic and cook over low heat, stirring, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 12 minutes.
• 5 in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. drain the pasta, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking water.
• 6 transfer the pasta to a large bowl.
• 7 return the spinach to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring, until heated through.
• 8 add the chickpeas and reserved pasta water and simmer for 3 minutes.
• 9 pour the sauce over the pasta and toss well. season with salt and pepper and serve at once.