Easy Green Halloween Pasta

One of my very first blog posts was about The End is Near Halloween party. Last year around this time, B and I went to my friend Melissa’s for the evening, got all spooked up, and then hit the town for a night of monster mashing. But before that, Melissa served a deliciously-squeemish green pasta dinner, one I have been wanting to recreate all year! So today, in lieu of the upcoming spook-holiday, I give you Easy Green Halloween Pasta!Ew, I know, right?! It’s scary easy to make. You only need three ingredients, one of them being water which doesn’t even count. To get started, grab a box of plane jane pasta. You could use a fancy pasta like rotini or ziti, but I find that spaghetti looks the most creepy-crawly when colored green! For every one pound of pasta, you’ll need 5 quarts of water. Fill up your pot and then add in two good tablespoons of green dye. Now is a good time to salt the water as well ;) For taste of course!The more food dye you add, the darker the pasta will become. Now, I have an induction stove top which means my water boils in less than 30 seconds. So I threw my pasta into the pot right away no harm down. However, if you have a gas or electric cooker, you will want to wait for you water to boil before adding the spaghetti – just like any other pasta night.
Bring the water in your pot to a boil and then add the pasta. Be sure to give it a good stir in the first minute or two so your spaghetti strands don’t stick together.Follow your package directions for cook time. When it’s done, take it out of the pot, strain it, and then keep it in the colander. Now, you could eat your pasta like this – a solid, minty green color throughout. OR, you could add in another dab of green food dye, highlighting strands and pasta curls in a squeamish fashion.
Transfer the spaghetti to your plate and top it off however you like.The dye doesn’t influence the taste, so you can serve your green pasta like ‘normal’. I whipped up a quick marinara sauce, as a thick, blood red topping seemed quite fitting for Halloween pasta. I used some sliced olives and little meatballs to make B a spaghetti monster plate. This is obviously the more kid-friendly version!Or you could be more mature, and serve it with some fresh basil and parmesan cheese, whichever you prefer.Either way, your green pasta will steal the show – a quick, easy and fun halloween dinner! Like the skeleton says before dinner. . . . Bone appetit!