Step 1

Cook the spinach on a medium heat in a covered pot until it has softened (do not add fats, water or salt). As soon as it is ready, drain and shake or press with your hands to remove the water.

Step 2

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it starts to boil add salt and bring to the boil again.

Step 3

In the meantime, finely chop the spinach and cook it for a few minutes in a frying pan with 1-2 tablespoons of heated olive oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of nutmeg and the crushed garlic.

Step 4

Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water according to the instructions on the packet. Before draining the pasta save a cup of the cooking water.

Step 5

Puree the stracchino together with 2 tablespoons of milk in a bowl. Add a little more milk and continue to mash until you have a creamy consistency. If you want it to be more liquidy, you can add some of the pasta cooking water. You can also use a hand held blender for this.

Step 6

Remove the garlic from the spinach and mix in the stracchino cream. Add black pepper to taste.

Step 7

Add the drained pasta to the cream and spinach. Mix well and serve with grated Parmesan if required.

Step 8

I also made this dish with cooked ham. Just cut the ham into small pieces and add it to the frying pan when you are cooking the spinach and garlic.