Blistered Cherry Tomato Pasta

Quick, simple weeknight meal brings back the warmth and flavors of summer!

1 bag frozen cherry tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bag spinach, finely chopped

half bunch parsley, finely chopped (or half a bag finely chopped pea shoots, or both!)

1 small to medium yellow beet, grated

1 TBSP olive oil (plus some to keep cooked pasta from sticking)

tiny splash of lemon juice

grated parmesan cheese

pinch of black pepper

your choice of pasta (I often use a linguine for this recipe)

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta slightly al dente. (It will cook a little more when you mix everything together.) Strain and set aside with a little olive oil to keep from sticking. Meanwhile while the water is coming to a boil, saute the crushed garlic and grated yellow beet in olive oil in a pan until the beets have slightly carmelized, and remove them from the pan. Add a splash more olive oil to the hot pan, and put the frozen cherry tomatoes in. Let them cook without stirring for about 3-5 minutes, and then roll each of them over to cook the other side, but make sure they don’t burn before you turn them over…If your heat is pretty high they may cook faster than 3-5 minutes. (They will be releasing liquid and making the pan nice and juicy.) Add the garlic and beets back in, stir in the finely chopped spinach, and add the warm al dente pasta with the splash of lemon juice. Continue to stir everything together over a low heat for a moment. Remove from the heat, and stir in the parsley (or pea shoots) and parmesan cheeese and pepper before serving. Enjoy!