Jamie Oliver's Super-Green Pasta Is Ready In Just 24 Minutes (and Delicious)

I’m embarrassed to admit how often we eat pasta for dinner. It seems whenever I don’t know what to cook, pasta is there to save me. While we often keep it simple with “pasta and red sauce” (as my kids call it), every once in a while I go out on a limb and get creative with the sauces.

If you have any experience with feeding children, you will understand how risky this is. While my oldest and youngest will eat almost any kind of pasta, my youngest son inspects anything presented to him with equal parts fear and speculation. The kid can tell if I used a new kind of butter, or dared to use a different brand of pasta than he's used to. It’s as equally exhausting as it is impressive. 

That said, I had a recent parenting win that felt great. I’ve been really into Jamie Oliver’s recipes recently. I feel he strikes a great balance between eating healthy, without it feeling like it. He also has a way of dreaming up combinations that are kid-approved but still interesting for parents. His Super-Green Orecchiette is the perfect example of this.

How To Make Super-Green Orecchiette

This pasta is GREEN. I mean really green. We made it for the first time right before Christmas and my kids lovingly called it Grinch pasta, which I think helped my middle son gain the courage to try it. 

The sauce is built with broccoli stems, baby spinach, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice. The broccoli stems, garlic and spinach are cooked briefly, then blended into a smooth and creamy sauce. 

After the sauce is done, the pasta cooks in the same pot used to cook the vegetable (yay, nutrients!). The chopped broccoli florets and peas get tossed in during the last few minutes so they stay bright green and tender with a bite. The pasta and blanched vegetables are drained, then added to the creamy green sauce and finished with some breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil, all dolloped with a spoonful of cottage cheese. 

The end result is a pasta that’s absolutely jam-packed with fresh veggies that takes just 24 minutes to make. No one even questioned why it was green. (See? Win!)

Tips for Making This Green Pasta 

• Increase the pasta for leftovers. I used a full pound of pasta, but I kept the other quantities the same. I found there was still plenty of sauce, and this way I had some leftovers on hand for lunch the next day. 
• Incorporate cottage cheese into the sauce. Since I wasn’t trying to push my luck, I added the cottage cheese directly into the blender, which added richness and a slight tang my kids loved. 
• Adjust toppings. If you don’t like spice, leave off the chili flakes. Likewise, this pasta is hearty enough to stand on its own, but I’ve made it a second time and served it topped with a little prosciutto (or bacon). It adds just a little pop of saltiness and a hit of protein with no extra cooking.