Spinach Sage Sauce Over Pasta

My dear friend Dani grows fantastic herbs, and every summer she harvests some of her greens and sends them my way.  Last week, for example, she tossed a ziplock bag of sage over the wall of my lab's cubicle.  She was gonna tape it to the lab's door, but then people might think we're in some sort of drug trade, so I suggested we go with the over-the-wall toss.

Anyways.  So i had this great sage in my possession. 

What now?  What does one do with sage?  I decided that I wanted to reap its glory by making a paste/sauce with it to put over pasta, like pesto.  So here's what I did:

Ingredients (made 4 servings):
-1 handful fresh sage
-1 package frozen spinach, thawed in microwave
-3 cloves garlic
-1 tbsp olive oil
-6 oz whole grain pasta
-3 oz lean chicken breast
-1 tsp ginger, grated

Seasonings for Chicken:
-dash of pepper, paprika, salt, cumin, italian seasoning, oregano

1.  First, you'll want to defrost your spinach in the microwave. 

While you're zapping the spinach, go ahead and get out the food processor.  You'll want to add the garlic and sage...

 

And also add the spinach to the processor.

After it's processed, it'll look something like this.

2.  Boil pasta.  Save some of the starchy cooking water.

3.  Season chicken with the spices listed under "Seasonings for Chicken".  Grill, then shred with fork and knife.

4.  Put drained pasta, chicken, and spinach sage sauce into bowl.

 

 

5.  Add starchy cooking water and mix.

6.  Grate ginger into the mix.  The reason mine looks icy is because when i first got it, i peeled it and stored the pieces in the freezer.  And when you wanna use it, just take it out and grate it into food.  Easy!

Serve!  It's great reheated, so if you are cooking for one, you can put them in plastic containers and microwave them throughout the week. 

Oh man oh man, it's so delicious!  And think what your mama would say if she knew how much spinach you were eating!

 

I love the sharp taste of fresh sage with the mild green flavor of spinach (yes, a flavor can be green), enveloped by the aromatic garlic.  The little pieces of occasional chicken are delightful.  Of course, this dish can easily be made vegetarian by simply omitting the chicken (and replacing with mushroom or shrimp).  

This recipe would work well with many other herbs, such as fresh oregano, basil, chives, or parsley.

For a printable version of this recipe, please click here.