Arugula and Tomato Pasta

My goodness, it's been a long week. I'm looking forward to some serious relaxation this weekend; I'll be baking some blueberry muffins, making the cover pasta recipe from the June issue of Bon Appetit (it's spaghetti with roasted tomatoes and anchovy oreganata--YUM), cleaning, doing loads of laundry, getting my swimsuits out of storage (!!) to figure out what to toss and what to keep, and venturing out to Brooklyn for a Saturday night dinner date/road trip. Also, I'm dying to see Woody Allen's new flick, Midnight in Paris--I worship the man.

If you're looking to cook up some pasta of your own this weekend, this dish combines two of my very favorite things: arugula and spaghetti. How could it go wrong? It's a simple, light, summery recipe that incorporates lots of healthy bitter greens and a good helping of nutty Parmesan. Try it out and let me know how it goes. xo

Arugula and Tomato Pasta
Adapted from My Father's Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed with a mallet or mortar and pestle
3 14-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound (3/4 box) spaghetti or tagliatelle
3 ounces arugula (3 large handfuls)
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving 

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, chile flakes, and fennel, and cook, stirring for 3 minutes, or until very fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their juice, season with salt and pepper, turn the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil. Turn the heat to medium low and let the sauce cook on a low boil for 1 hour.

About 10 minutes before you're ready to eat, boil the spaghetti in salted boiling water. A minute before it's al dente, add the arugula to the pasta pot. Drain the pasta and arugula and toss them with the tomato sauce.

Serve each portion with plenty of grated Parmesan.