Courgetti Spaghetti with Pine Nuts, Spinach and Feta Recipe

Healthy Recipe – Courgetti Spaghetti with Pine Nuts, Spinach and Feta

The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, female-male, dark-light and old-young.’

– worldhistory.org

… healthy and not-so-healthy could be another example, when it comes to food, don’t you think?

Well on that thought – as I’ve featured a delicious but CHEEKY Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake Recipe, and a tasty but HEALTHY Chocolate Kidney Bean Cake Recipe here on The Life of Stuff, it’s about time I Yin-Yang my pasta based recipes!

I’ve featured a Swiss Chard, Spring Onion and Parmesan Pasta Recipe (which isn’t actually too bold) and A Moreish Meaty or Meaty Meat-Free Lasagne Recipe (which can be very bold depending how liberal you are with your cheese) – so now it’s time for a ‘HEALTHY’ pasta recipe and this recipe is not only healthy, but it’s simple and more importantly it’s delicious!

Courgetti Spaghetti with Pine Nuts, Spinach and Feta Recipe

You can enjoy this Courgetti Spaghetti with Pine Nuts, Spinach and Feta Recipe with or without meat. The meat that comes recommended in the original recipe, which I’ve referenced below, is pork in the shape of ‘cubed smoked lardons, pancetta or diced bacon’. But I actually use Serrano Ham when cooking this dish as it seems to be the most easily available in our supermarket of late – and it works really well, so I can recommend it.

Courgetti Spaghetti Ingredients – Serves 2

80g Dried Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 Large Courgette – trimmed and spiralised
20g Pine Nuts
50g Cubed Smoked Lardons or Pancetta, Diced Bacon or torn Serrano Ham
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
150g Young/Baby Spinach Leaves
80g Feta

Courgetti Spaghetti Method

Half fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti, return to the boil and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Add the spiralised courgette and stir together quickly, then immediately strain through a colander, and run very briefly under a cold tap.
Meanwhile, place the pine nuts and ‘lardons’ in a non-stick saucepan with half the oil and fry over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly until lightly browned. Tip out onto a plate and return the pan to the heat.
Add the remaining oil and spinach and cook over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the spinach is soft, stirring regularly. Crumble two thirds of the feta over the top, season and cook until the feta melts, making a creamy coating for the spinach.
Return the spaghetti and courgetti to their saucepan, add the spinach and feta sauce and, using two forks. toss together well over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
Divide between two shallow bowls, crumble the remaining feta over the top and sprinkle with the ‘lardons’ and pine nuts.

This recipe was inspired by Dr Claire Bailey and Justine Pattison via ‘The Fast 800 Recipe Book‘ (you can see it featured in the ingredients photograph above the ‘finished dish’ photo below).

I always feel that you don’t need to follow a specific diet to be inspired by recipes, and so I’m always ready and willing to try out recipes from every type of cookbook.

From travelling the world to local eateries, cookbook bibles to dietary fads, you never know where inspiration will come from for your next favourite home cooked meal!