Fifteen minute Florentine pasta

So, in my house, I have a few friends that always turn up at random, completely unexpected times - and when this happens I like to whip up some impromptu food as I appreciate the effort they've made to see me! I love all my friends and I find that good food just always makes a visit even better!

My friend came to visit me and my son for Easter lunch, and dropped off some Easter Eggs for us both which was really sweet and really unexpected! I had wanted to cook up a roast for our Easter lunch, but I was unable to find a Quorn roasting joint these past few days in the run up to Easter! So, instead I had to improvise, and with the impromptu visit, I made up my florentine pasta. It's light, but also rich in taste, and decadent.

Ingredients

Penne pasta

Quorn chicken pieces 

Cherry tomatoes

Spinach

White wine

Vegetarian Oxo stock cube

Garlic granules

Salt and pepper

Parmesan (to garnish)

Dried chives (to garnish)

I started by boiling some pasta in a saucepan (enough for two portions). In a separate saucepan, I heated up some vegetable oil, and I put in the garlic granules, Quorn chicken pieces, and halved cherry tomatoes first. I kept the heat on high and lightly fried until the Quorn chicken pieces had completely cooked through. I added some salt and pepper to the pan to season.

To make the sauce, I made a light paste by using an oxo stock cube with about 50ml of boiled water. I stirred that in a small Pyrex jug before adding it to the saucepan. I then added in about 125ml (a small wine glass) of white wine, and mixed that all in. I then added the spinach leaves a few minutes before the end, and added the drained, cooked pasta on the top. When the pasta is still very hot, it wilts the spinach almost instantly. I left it for a couple of minutes just to maintain the hot temperature throughout.

My favourite thing about this dish, is that it's really cool to serve up. I poured the contents of the saucepan into a serving dish, and where the pasta was the last thing to go in the saucepan, it's the first thing to go in the dish, which is then topped with the spinach, and then the light sauce with the tomatoes and Quorn chicken. 

I then garnished with Parmesan shavings and, as always, my dried chives! I always use dried chives as they add that little splash of colour and interest, and makes it look so much more presentable. 

We had this meal with some crusty bread on the side, and a small glass of chilled white wine (it's the driving limit in the UK). It went beautifully and we both went back for seconds of the pasta! It's just such an easy, and likeable dish, I've never met anyone to not like it!

So, this was my Florentine Pasta, and I hope you enjoyed this post!

Sam x