Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula

Ingredients
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved if small, quartered if large
1 plump garlic clove, minced or put through a press (more to taste)
Salt to taste (I like to use a very good coarse sea salt or fleur de sel for this)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 cup arugula leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon slivered or chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound fusille, farfalle, or orecchiette
1/4 cup freshly grated ricotta salata or Parmesan (more to taste)

1. Combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar, arugula, basil, and olive oil in a wide bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt and the pasta. Cook al dente, until the pasta is firm to the bite. Drain, toss with the tomatoes, sprinkle on the cheese, and serve.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Advance preparation: You can make the tomato and arugula mixture a few hours ahead.

Approximate nutritional information: 407 calories; calories from fat 92; total fat: 10.3g; saturated fat 2.0g; cholesterol 6mg; sodium 140mg; total carbohydrates 67.4g; dietary fiber 4.0g; sugars 3.7g; protein 13.9g

Spring Baby Artichoke & Spinach Pesto

Ingredients
Salt
1 pound penne rigate pasta
4 cups (packed) baby spinach, divided
1/4 cup shelled pistachios or whole almonds, toasted
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
A few grates fresh nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2
Ground black pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound fresh or frozen artichoke hearts (defrosted, if frozen)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1/2 cup white wine

Preparation
Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil. When the water reaches a bubble, salt it and drop the pasta. Cook just shy of al dente according to package directions. Just before draining, reserve a large mugful of the starchy cooking water. Drain pasta and reserve

While the pasta is cooking, combine half of the spinach, the nuts, stock, Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice, some salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the machine to chop everything up then stream in about 1/4 cup EVOO (eyeball it) with the machine running. Reserve.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the artichokes and garlic to the pan, and cook until slightly golden. Add the wine and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes.

Add the pasta, pesto, reserved cooking water (about 1 cup) and remaining spinach to the pan and toss to combine and wilt the spinach, 2-3 minutes. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Link: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/spring-baby-artichoke-and-spinach-pesto-pasta/