Harissa Spaghetti

Wait, what? Spaghetti on this blog? Are you kidding? Are you going insane? Where are the zoodles man?
I know, shocking.
Take a deep breath, relax, everything will be okay. I promise.
But you see, I recently bought these gluten-free spaghetti (made with a blend of organic corn, rice, and quinoa), and they taste so darn good I was like “Score! Finally a GF pasta that’s like the real deal!”

Don’t worry though, I’m not here to brag about this particular brand — I haven't been compensated for advertising it, although without hesitation I fully endorse the product.
I just found it last week at CostCo, it didn’t cost an arm and leg, and I was pleasantly surprised.
It’s more like I’m saying “This a pretty awesome gluten-free pasta, you guys should give a try!”
And no better way to have spaghetti that with this Harissa Spaghetti recipe.

This is easily one of my favorite recipes ever and I have served it several times when I’ve had company because it pleases everyone.
It’s so darn simple to make and so astonishingly full-flavored.
It has a lot going on and it’s chock full of good for you things: spinach green goodness, olives briny saltiness, harissa heat, toasted pine nuts for a little crunch, lemon zest punch.
All in all this is SUCH a killer recipe!

If you try any recipe from this blog, you should truly consider this one.
And by the way you can totally use zoodles, spaghetti squash, or any whole pasta really instead of the gluten-free spaghetti. I mean, it’s your call.
Keep in mind that the range of harissa available for purchase is broad. One tube might be mild, the next uber hot. That being said, I strongly suggest you make your own, using my award winning recipe. You know, just saying...

Harissa Spaghetti                                                                                                                                       Print this recipe!
Adapted from 101Cookbooks

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves garlic, peeled
¼ teaspoon fine grain salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons harissa paste (make your own harissa paste with this recipe)
½ lb / 225 gr gluten-free spaghetti or any other pasta
4 cups baby spinach, washed and roughly chopped
½ cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and halved
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions

Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
In the meantime, place the garlic cloves on a cutting board. Crush with the flat side of a knife. Now crush and chop, crush and chop until you have a garlic paste.
Transfer garlic paste to a small bowl, add harissa paste, and olive oil.
Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook per package instructions. Just before the pasta is done add the spinach to the pasta water, count to 10, drain and set aside.
Heat the harissa dressing in the pot, add spaghetti and spinach, black olives, pine nuts, and lemon zest. Stir over the heat for a minute or so, then turn everything out onto a platter and serve!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 387 calories, 21 grams of fat, 50 grams of carbs, and 6 grams of protein.