- fresh spinach
- 2 cloves of garlic per person
- white ground pepper
- 1 green chili
- olive oil
- salt
- cream
- good parmesan or aged asiago cheese
- spinach tagliatelle (italian name for fettuccine).. if not available, use egg-tagliatelle
Saute the spinach (let them wet, don't dry them)
with little olive oil, garlic, the chili, and white pepper, for few
minutes. Put everything in a food processor, and obtain a smooth,
liquid, green
sauce.
While the pasta cooks in the boiling water, put the green sauce back on the pan
with little olive oil, and cook at low-medium heat stirring gently, and adding gradually the
grated cheese and, towards the end, when the sauce gets quite thick, a spoon of
table cream.
Toss the pasta in (has to be very `al dente' almost `too firm'.. tagliatelle keep cooking very
quickly even while mixing with the sauce), mix well with the sauce, still with low heat, and serve immediately.
Pair with a northwestern (Piedmont) Italian white, with floreal scents,
not too acidic (pinot grigio is -not- the choice). Good choice:
Cortese, Gavi, Erbaluce
As an alternative, it would go well with a French-style Chardonnay.