Hummus pasta
A tub of hummus and a little pasta water become a creamy, garlicky, lemony sauce in seconds, tossed with spinach, tomatoes and feta.
- 20 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.68 a serving
- 450 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ¾ cup hummus
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 12 oz gluten-free pasta, short shape; regular pasta works too
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 450 calories, 12 g protein, 78 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $2.68 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, cover and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
In a big serving bowl, stir the hummus, lemon juice and garlic together.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Cook the pasta until , tasting 2 minutes before the package time, and drop the spinach into the pot for the last 30 seconds.
Al dente. Al dente is Italian for “to the tooth”: pasta cooked until tender but with a slight firm bite in the center. It holds up in sauce and keeps softening a little after you drain it.
How you’ll know: Bite a piece a minute before the package time: tender, with a slight firm bite in the middle and no crunch.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Gluten-free pasta softens fast, so taste early and pull it with a little bite left.Scoop out 1 cup of , then the pasta and spinach.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
about ½ cup of the hot into the hummus until it’s smooth and saucy, then add the pasta and .
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Hummus is thick, so it needs more water than you’d think to become a sauce.the tomatoes, with the oil, and serve topped with feta and pepper flakes.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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