Neven Maguire: An Italian classic with a green twist

Neven Maguire is the Irish Times Food Month guest chef this week and each day he will be sharing a recipe from his latest cookbook, Midweek Meals: Simple Recipes for Easy Everyday Eating.

As a chef, restaurateur and TV presenter, Maguire has a finger on the nation’s culinary pulse and has sold more than 100,000 cookbooks.

This week he will be sharing five recipes for meals that are easy to cook, and quick to prepare (or will sit happily in a slow cooker).

Spaghetti puttanesca with spinach

Using frozen spinach is a great way to access a green vegetable when the cupboard is bare, and the flavours work really well in this Italian classic. Frozen spinach comes in cubes, so it's super easy to use, which is why I always have a bag tucked away. It's also less watery then the fresh variety, so it doesn't thin out the sauce – a win-win.

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Serves four to six

Ingredients
500g spaghetti
1tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
6 anchovy fillets from a jar or tin, drained and finely chopped
1 x 400g tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
1 x 290g jar of roasted peppers in olive oil, well drained and thinly sliced
1 x 200g carton or jar of black olives, pitted
225g frozen spinach
2 heaped tbsp rinsed capers
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1 Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

2 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 6-8 minutes, until softened and just beginning to catch around the edges. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook for another minute.

3 Add the tomatoes, peppers, olives, spinach and capers to the pan. Season lightly with salt, as the anchovies are already salty, and plenty of black pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach has defrosted and is nicely incorporated into the sauce.

4 Drain the pasta into a colander in the sink, then toss into the sauce until evenly combined. Divide between pasta bowls to serve.