Healthy, Hearty, Italian Spaghetti with Spinach, Bread Crumbs, and Roasted Garlic

Many meatless pasta recipes beckon you, but most disappoint. This one will satisfy your hunger, keep your blood sugar low, and generally promote good health. Nutritious, high in fiber, featuring spinach, garlic, cheese, whole wheat pasta and bread crumbs, a rare dish which is simultaneously healthy and delicious.

The spinach is easy. Use a bag of frozen cut leaf spinach from your grocery store. No work, ready to go.

The pasta, likewise, is no effort – just purchase the whole wheat variety.

Now the bread crumbs are a different story. If you purchase prepared bread crumbs, they will not be high fiber. But as an accent to this dish, the overall effect will still be good. However if you’ve got a few minutes, it’s very easy to make fresh, high fiber bread crumbs at home.

In the end, no matter your choices, this is a wonderful Italian dish promoting great nutrition and is, by the way, very tasty!

Bread Crumbs

Of course you can buy prepared bread crumbs, even seasoned with Italian herbs, but you will find them disappointing. Instead, try this.

2 slices of multi-grain bread

Heat oven to 300F. Place bread slices on a cookie tray in the oven and allow to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a food processor. Blend until reduced to crumbs. You are done – high fiber, fresh bread crumbs.

 Pasta dish

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, in halves

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and diced

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

Dash of Italian seasoning

1 lb. cut leaf spinach

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

Salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Start a large pot of water to boil. Add salt.

Meanwhile, warm half of the olive oil (1/4 cup) in a large, deep skillet and cook the garlic till slightly browned. Add  bread crumbs, pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Cook until bread crumbs begin to brown. Remove to a separate bowl.

Add remaining olive oil to the skillet (1/4 cup) and cook spinach until wilted. Stir in bread crumb/garlic mixture from the reserved bowl, mix well and continue to reduce.

As soon as the pasta water boils, add pasta and cook till al dente, 6-7 minutes. Capture a half cup of the pasta water, then drain in a colander. Place pasta in the skillet, combine well with spinach mixture and a bit of the pasta water. Warm up the burner and cook till well combined. Test and adjust seasonings as desired.

Serve hot, topped with freshly grated Parmesan.

Buon appetito!