Gravel & Dine

Eating & growing up down a gravel road

  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
      • Dips
    • Breakfast
    • DIY
    • Drinks
    • Freezer Meals
    • Grilling
    • How To
    • Main Dishes
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • FIsh/Seafood
      • Meatless
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches, Burgers & Wraps
    • Sauce, Dressings & Dips
      • Dips
      • Dressing
      • Sauce
    • Sides
    • Slow Cooker
    • Soups
    • Sweets
      • Cookies & Bars
      • Desserts
      • Ice cream
      • Pies
    • Veggies
    • Wild Game
  • About Us
    • About Dana
    • About Tory
  • Contact Us

Acini de Pepi with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes

July 29, 2018 by Dana Leave a Comment

The first time I made this recipe was for North Dakota.  I made it ahead of time as a side and figured that we could just heat it up when we were ready to eat.  Well as it turns out, I liked it even better when I had it up there than when I tasted it while I was cooking!  Sitting overnight really lets the flavors meld and come together. When things come out as good as this, my family really doesn’t mind being guinea pigs.  And I can always tell a recipe is a winner when I see people heat up the leftovers from the fridge as a mid-afternoon snack later in the hunting trip.

Acini de Pepi are those little tiny balls of pasta you see in the box (and if you are like me) wonder what on earth do you make with those.  Well this recipe is your answer.  I add them to garlic, scallions, spinach and tomato basil feta cheese.  The rest is a flavorful, fresh pasta side dish that you can eat hot or cold.

Here’s what you need:

Start with your mis en place and get all your prep work done.  I roughly chopped that entire 6 oz bag of spinach you see in the ingredient photo.  I also chopped sundried tomatoes, minced garlic, and sliced scallions.

Cook the acini de pepi according to package directions and drain but do not rinse.  Meanwhile start the goodies that go into the pasta.

Melt some butter with a little oil from the sundried tomato jar in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat.

Add the scallions, garlic, and some red pepper flakes.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant–you don’t want the garlic to burn.

Add the sundried tomatoes.

As soon as those are stirred in, add in the spinach.  You might need to add in 2 batches if it mounds too high.

It will wilt down quickly, in about 2 minutes it should look like this.

Now add in the pasta as well as the entire package of that tomato basil feta cheese. If you can’t find that flavor regular feta works too or if another flavor sounds good, go for it..

Gently (so as not to toss it all over your stove) stir everything together.

Taste and season with salt if needed.

Serve immediately, at room temperature or refrigerate and serve warmed up or cold the next day.

Oh, and if you are interested in the steaks from the top of the page, I will be posting those next week.

 

Acini de Pepi with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
20 mins
 
A flavorful pasta that can be served hot, cold, room temp or leftover filled with spinach, sundried tomato, and salty, tangy, sundried tomato feta cheese.
Author: Gravel & Dine
Recipe type: Sides
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ lb acini di pepe pasta
  • 1 T oil from sundried tomato jar
  • 2 T butter
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 4 scallions, chopped
  • ⅓ c sundried tomatoes, chopped
  • 6 oz bag of spinach, chopped
  • 4 oz tomato basil flavor feta cheese (regular is fine if you can’t find it or another flavor)
  • Salt, to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain but do not rinse.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and scallions and cook about 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in sundried tomatoes.
  3. Add spinach and cook until wilted about 2 minutes.
  4. Add pasta to skillet along with feta cheese.
  5. Stir until well combined.
  6. Taste and season with salt if needed.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
3.5.3251

 

Related

Filed Under: Pasta, Sides Tagged With: acini de pepi, easy side, hot or cold, pasta, side, sundried tomato

« Blueberry Lemon Sherbet
Grilled Pinwheel Flank Steak with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes »

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow us on Pinterest

Gravel & Dine

Search Gravel & Dine

Recipes by Category

Subscribe to Gravel & Dine

Enter your email address to subscribe receive emails for each new post.

Connect with Dana & Tory

We’re two sisters whose story began at the end of a gravel road in Northern MN. We love to cook, share new recipes with each other, and are excited to share what we love to cook with you!

Hey, It's Tory! I've somewhat recently decided that cooking my own food is fun and can be healthier. I'm hoping this blog will inspire me to create healthy, tasty dishes! Learn More…

Hi! I'm Dana! I love being in the kitchen trying new recipes or perfecting old favorites. I am the chef of our hunting camps but am known for my cookies as much as my food! Learn More…

Recent Recipes

Beef Tallow

Smoked Brisket

High Protein Mac-n-Cheese

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Connect

Welcome to Gravel & Dine! We're two sisters who would love to share with you our love of cooking that started down a gravel road in Northern MN. We love easy weeknight meals, trying new things, and cooking for the people we love! Read More…

Most Popular Recipes

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Child Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress