Pasta with Herbed Cream Cheese and Wilted Greens
This pasta with herbed cream cheese and wilted greens pairs perfectly with our Organic Merlot
This delicious recipe for pasta with herbed cream cheese and wilted greens comes from Nicole Martensen’s kitchen.
Midsummer has us taking advantage of the long days by spending weekday evenings doing garden chores. Right now, it’s about spreading another layer of compost on the roses, preparing the soil for another crop of microgreens, and endless weeding. On days like this, dinner is an afterthought, and we just need some quick, hearty fare to fuel us until the last rays of sun disappear behind the tree line. This easy pasta recipe fits the bill: not necessarily for company, perhaps eaten while standing at the kitchen counter hunched over a steaming bowl, with at least another hour of daylight to spend back out in the garden.
Garden fresh Organic Herbs
Pasta with Herbed Cream Cheese and Wilted Greens
This is not an exact recipe -- use what you have and keep it simple!
4 oz dried pasta per person
2 oz herbed cream cheese per person (recipe follows)
2 big handfuls of organic greens per person (the photo includes baby kale and tatsoi grown from non-GMO Territorial Seeds).
extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt
fresh pepper
Garden fresh Organic Greens
Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of salt when it comes to a boil. Add dried pasta and cook according to package directions. In the last minute of cooking, add greens and stir.
Drain pasta and greens, return to pot and stir in herbed cream cheese until melted. Scoop into bowls; top with Maldon salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. If you like it spicy, add a squirt from a tube of Moroccan harissa.
Herbed Cream Cheese
1 – 8 oz tub of organic cream cheese
1 clove garlic
A handful of fresh herbs (we like any combination of tarragon, dill, parsley, chives, thyme).
1 Tbsp gin or vermouth (we love using gin from our friends at Mendocino Spirits – it’s rich aromatics infuse the cream cheese with complex botanicals).
A delicious gin from our friends at Mendocino Spirits
Chop garlic finely, either by hand or in the bowl of a Cuisinart. Add whatever fresh herbs you are using and pulse (or mince finely by hand). Add cream cheese and mix in thoroughly. Add gin or vermouth to create a spreadable mixture.
We try to keep this on hand in the fridge. It’s delicious as a schmear on bagels or stirred into a steaming bowl of pasta, like in this recipe! The freshness and herbal aromatics in this dish pair well with our 2022 Organic Merlot. Enjoy this pasta with herbed cream cheese and wilted greens the next time you uncork the organic!