My goodness how tasty this first course is: the pasta with escarole Sicilian-style was a discovery for me. In fact a Sicilian friend told me about it describing her mother’s recipe and from there I started cooking. I love escarole and fortunately here in the Netherlands it is very easy to find.
And how good it is: a vegetable and pasta soup with many little pieces of cheese on top that make it a balanced dish. By measuring the cheese and pasta well it also turns out to be a very light, satisfying, nutritious dish and also practical to prepare.
My Neapolitan background led me to “risottare” the pasta, that is to cook it directly in the sauce: the advantage of cooking the pasta this way is that the starch stays in the final dish, giving even more creaminess to the plate.
This is a dish suitable for those following a vegetarian diet: to make it vegan read the Notes at the end of the recipe. Now let’s prepare it.
You can find some other light balanced first courses here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2Servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz spaghetti (also whole wheat)
- 14 oz escarole (one large head)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1.5 oz hard cheese (a hard cheese; I used Auricchio spicy)
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
- to taste salt and pepper
- Total points = 8 WW points
Preparation
First of all prepare all the ingredients. Cut the cheese into small cubes and clean the escarole thoroughly. Separate the leaves well, wash and drain them and then cut them into rough strips.
Sauté the garlic sliced with the oil in a nonstick pan, then add the escarole and let it wilt, stirring often. Because the escarole is still wet it will provide the moisture needed to cook: if it dries out too much add a tablespoon of water.
When the escarole has wilted add a little salt, some water and the broken spaghetti, mix well and cover. After 5 minutes check the doneness of the spaghetti and if necessary add a bit more water. Continue until the spaghetti are al dente.
Adjust salt and serve on plates adding the grated Parmesan and the small diced cheese, distributing it well over the entire surface.
The pasta with escarole Sicilian-style is ready! If you want it more brothy you can add a bit more water during cooking and maybe a teaspoon of organic vegetable bouillon granules. I like it more “embraced” (less brothy), as a good Neapolitan!
Here is a close-up photo of the pasta with escarole: it makes you want it, doesn’t it? I suggest you make it: for 8 Weight Watchers points it is quite generous and very tasty. The delicate flavor of the escarole combined with the pronounced flavor of the cheese is a fantastic pairing! Try it and then leave me a comment below to let me know if you liked it.
Enjoy your meal everyone!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes
To make this dish vegan you can use smoked tofu cut into cubes and added raw as it is very good even like that.
There are also many other types of vegan hard cheeses but always make sure they contain protein otherwise it will no longer be a balanced dish. Typically avoid cheeses made with coconut oil and prefer those made with almonds or cashews.
