Sometimes the last minute, impromptu pasta recipes are the best ones. This was made with a few ingredients I located in my fridge.

I noticed that a lot of my pasta recipes are either vegan 🌱 and white (meaning no sauce/tomato) or tomato based with a protein vegetable combination, like this recipe. I didn’t want to add tuna or a ground meat so I thought the sweetness of the ham would combine well with the fresh tomatoes and spinach. You can even do without ham to make it vegan.

For 4-6 people.

Time: 30 min

Difficulty: easy.

For this recipe you will need:

• 450g spelt pasta
• 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup cubed ham
• 1/2 cup pitted olives
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 large clove garlic, diced
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine

What to do:

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.
2. When onions become translucent, add mushrooms and white wine.
3. Cook for 5-7 min or until mushrooms have cooked halfway, add olives and cherry tomatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat.
4. Boil pasta according to package instructions. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Add pasta and water reserved to the tomato sauce.
5. Add spinach and combine. Top with grated Parmesan if desired.