Fresh Fettuccine
with Spinach, Red Peppers,
and Smoked Cheese

This pasta dish is a knockout, and one of my favorite recipes to serve when company's arriving on short notice. Even a die-hard vegetarian like myself will readily admit that the bacon-like flavor of smoked cheese is hard to resist, and here, it weaves magic. If you can't get fresh pasta, ¾ pound dried linguine could be substituted (odd as it may seem, fresh fettuccine and dried linguine are the same width), but a little character will be lost.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin 2-inch-long strips
• 1 (1-pound) bunch or 1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach, stems discarded and leaves washed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Generous seasoning freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound fresh fettuccine
• 1 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese

Method

1. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the pepper and sauté until tender yet crisp, about 7 minutes.

3. Pile on the spinach, and cover the pan. Cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and ground pepper. Keep the sauce warm over very low heat.

4. Drop the fresh pasta into the boiling water and cook about 3 minutes, or until al dente. (If you are using dried pasta it will take 7-10 minutes.) Remove ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water and stir it into the sauce. Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce. Mix in the cheese and serve immediately.

  Serves 3 - 4.

This recipe was excerpted from Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. ©1998. This recipe is reprinted with permission from Quill, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. www.harpercollins.com

Info/Order this book

Jeanne Lemlin, the muse of all that is fast and vegetarian, is the author of Vegetarian Pleasures, Main Course: Vegetarian Pleasures, Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, Vegetarian Classics, and Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, for which she won a James Beard Cookbook Award. She is a cooking instructor and has written for Gourmet, Yankee Magazine, and Country Journal.