While we’re about halfway through the semester, I’ve been stumped trying to feed myself. It’s the same struggle that college students experience throughout campus, regardless of school or year. With classes, clubs, jobs, internships and the human needs to exercise, socialize and sleep, there’s little time left for food prep. Of course, eating healthy, nutritious food is essential for ensuring that we’re at our best for all of the demands of the day. And, in college, there’s a lot. So, recently I’ve been exploring meals that are hearty, filling, tasty and — most importantly — make big, heaping batches of leftovers. I’ve discovered pearl couscous with feta, which I’ve scheduled for the weekend’s big bake, a couple casseroles and the dish I’ll be discussing here: baked spinach-artichoke pasta.
Advertised as being for lovers of spinach-artichoke dip, the dish combines the two greens in a creamy sauce flavored with garlic, red pepper and parmesan. Topped with mozzarella and baked in the oven, it’s a filling, fragrant meal, perfect for fall. In addition, it also freezes well, making it a great dish to prepare ahead, freeze and bake on a busy night.
The recipe I’ll be making comes from the New York Times Cooking website, which does, unfortunately, have a paywall, but Food Network has a similar recipe. The only difference between the two is that NYT Cooking swaps Food Network’s cream cheese for heavy cream and forgoes the 3/4 cup of leftover pasta water.
First off, the cost of the dish. The recipe calls for pasta, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, baby spinach, artichoke hearts, heavy cream, parmesan, black pepper and mozzarella. It’s a long list. Fortunately, I already had olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper and parmesan as some of my pantry staples. The rest I got from Trader Joe’s and Cherry Valley. The pasta was $0.99, the spinach $4.99, the artichoke hearts were $2.49, the mozzarella was $3.50 and the heavy cream was $10. The spinach was organic, so it was priced higher than plenty of other varieties at the store. Similarly, I splurged on the heavy cream because it was from Horizon, a company that I trust more than other dairy brands. There were also other varieties of heavy cream that were a dollar or two cheaper. All in all, the total cost came to $21.97, which, when divided into four portions, comes to $5.49. For a hearty helping of pasta, cheese and packed with nutrients, I would say that’s not too bad. Also, I did not use all of the mozzarella, so I’ll be able to incorporate that into meals in the future.
The recipe itself is pretty straight forward. Before anything else, you preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, you boil pasta in a pot of water. That’s fairly simple, and if you’re confused, there’s often directions on the packaging. The more involved part is the sauce that the pasta will be baking in. First, you heat up the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a pan. Once the mixture is fragrant, you add the spinach, cooking it until it wilts, then the artichoke hearts. After a minute or two, add the heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then add in a cup of grated parmesan. When the parmesan has melted, take the mixture off of the heat and add in the pasta. Fold the pasta into the sauce, making sure to mix the chunks of artichoke hearts and spinach evenly throughout. Finally, sprinkle mozzarella on top, and stick the whole concoction into the oven for twenty minutes — or until the mozzarella has browned. Let it cool, and then serve!
As I mentioned before, a terrific facet of this recipe is that it can be frozen and baked later. After folding the pasta into the sauce, place the mixture into the freezer. When you want to bake it, simply take it out of the freezer, let it thaw, then sprinkle the mozzarella on top. It’ll taste just as delicious as if you prepared all of the ingredients that day.
I love this recipe. I’ve loved it since my mom made it a few years ago, desperate for a delicious dish that she could make in large quantities. Even though I don’t particularly like artichokes, this is a delicious, fragrant dish that’s relatively simple to make.
While this batch will sit in my fridge and wait for me, I plan on making it for friends in the future. It’s easy, it’s nutritious, it’s tasty and it’s affordable. Buying groceries is expensive. With grocery costs continuing to increase due to inflation (and, in some cases, price gouging), it becomes harder and harder to live within the scant means of a college student and create meals that nourish the entirety of you — your mind, body and soul. My grocery store bills have made me nervous, and make me wonder whether or not I should just succumb to a diet of rice and beans. But, while I might eat rice and beans more frequently, I’m going to occasionally splurge on a bushel of spinach and a pint of heavy cream.
Difficulty rating: Walsh Hall.
