Pasta with Spinach Chiffonade in Chicken Broth

This is one of those pasta dishes that proves you don’t need a heavy cream sauce to get big flavor. Thin strips of fresh spinach (that’s the chiffonade) get a quick sauté in olive oil with garlic until barely wilted, then simmered chicken broth gets poured over the top to create a light, brothy sauce that coats every strand.

The key here is using reduced chicken broth. Reducing concentrates the flavor so the sauce tastes rich and savory even though it’s mostly liquid. If you’re starting with regular broth, simmer it down by about a third before adding it to the spinach.

Don’t overcook the spinach. Thirty seconds in the hot oil is all it needs. It should still have some structure when it hits the pasta. Overcooked spinach turns slimy and loses its bright green color.

Toss everything with hot spaghetti or linguine and finish with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and cracked black pepper. The cheese melts into the warm broth and adds a salty, nutty richness.

Kitchen Tips

• Cut spinach into ½-inch strips (chiffonade) by stacking leaves, rolling them tight, and slicing crosswise with a sharp knife.
• Save a cup of starchy pasta water. If the broth absorbs too fast, a splash of pasta water brings the sauce back.
• Use real Parmigiano-Reggiano, not the pre-grated stuff. It melts smoother and tastes worlds better.

Variations

• Add crushed red pepper flakes with the garlic for a spicy kick.
• Toss in sun-dried tomatoes or roasted cherry tomatoes for a pop of sweetness.
• Swap spinach for arugula or baby kale for a peppery or earthy twist.