Tag Archives: healthy italian

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Posted on November 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

A few weeks ago I scraped together some vegetables from the refrigerator to make a pasta dish. A few bites in Mark, my most honest taste tester, proclaimed it the best pasta dish I had ever made. When I find a good thing or a great recipe, I stick with it – I have made this dinner for the last three weeks!

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Ingredients

1 large eggplant

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

2 handfuls of green beans

2 links of chicken sausage (optional)

1 onion

Spaghetti for 2 (1/2 box of Quinoa Heritage spaghetti)

1 tbsp Olive oil for the pan

Olive oil spray

Garlic (I use cubes, three)

Basil (I use cubes, three)

Salt and Pepper

Pepperoncino to taste

Parmigiana Cheese to taste

The great thing is that with this recipe there are no rules. Did you want more pasta than vegetables? Sure. Love green beans? Make it three handfuls!

Cut the eggplant width-wise into coins and then cut across into cubes. Prepare a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with extra virgin olive oil spray. Spread the eggplant evenly on the sheet, spray eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake on the top shelf of the oven at 350 for 35 minutes.

While the eggplant is roasting, get to work on the rest of the ingredients. In a sauce pan melt the onions in olive oil with garlic and basil. If you’re including the sausage, add slices to pan. Then, add the cleaned green beans and sautee on low/medium heat. The green beans can hang out on their own for a little while without much attention, just a stir here and there. I top the pan with a cover to allow the steam to soften the beans, but not too soft.

After the eggplant has been roasting for 15 – 20 minutes add to the oven the halved cherry tomatoes, also treated with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes on the top shelf to allow them to get blistered.

During this time, set the water to boil for your pasta of choice. After the vegetables are cooked/roasted and the pasta is perfectly al dente, add the drained pasta to the green beans pan, along with the eggplant and tomatoes. Give the entire pan a light drizzle of olive oil and gently stir to incorporate all of the ingredients.

Serve with fresh shaved Parmigiano and a sprinkle of pepperoncino – and then you can also weigh in if this is your favorite pasta dish to date.

P.S. Mark, this is dinner tonight!

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Posted on May 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Sometimes dinner at my house is a game of what do I have in the fridge, and how much longer will it really last? Things with major staying power get to stick around for Wednesday/Thursday night’s dinner.

This meal came out of that game. I had fresh spring peas, two green zucchini, a chunk of parmigiana that was all, “Carly, eat me, a little bite… I’m so good,” and some fresh basil. All of that would be perfectly delectable with pre-made arugula and ricotta filled ravioli.

Spring Vegetable Pasta Ingredients

A splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
One large onion, chopped into thin rings
2 cloves of garlic
2 zucchini, shredded into ribbons
1/2 cup of fresh (or frozen) spring peas
Splash of vegetable broth (about 1/4 – 1/2 cup depending on your sauce preferences)
Salt and Pepper to taste
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (pepperoncino)
a sprinkle (or a handful) of parmigiana cheese
your favorite pasta

First prepare the zucchini, this is the most time consuming element so you might as well get it out of the way early. Chop the head and “butt” of the zucchini off and with a fruit peeler peel down the length of the zucchini revealing thin strips the width of the vegetable. Set aside.

In a large sauce pan add a swirl of the olive oil and then add the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper here, and over medium/low heat let the onion soften and sweat.

(At this point put water in a separate pot to boil and follow instructions.)

Add the garlic and when that spicy, fragrant aroma fills the air – is that not the best smell? – add the zucchini. At this point you can give the onions and zucchini a good stir, pour in the vegetable stock and cover.

When the zucchini ribbons are softer but not soggy add the peas and again give this some good stirs so that the flavors are all fully incorporated.

When plating this healthy and quick to make dinner give the vegetables one more quick drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of red pepper and cheese.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

Posted on January 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

Risotto is a favorite dish in our house. It is fairly easy to make, inexpensive to make a lot of and is a great alternative to pasta for a gluten free diet, and a vegetarian main course.

So risotto is one of those things where you can experiment a little bit with ingredients, as long as you follow the rules with timing.

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients

1 Butternut Squash, chopped in 1-2″ pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt, Pepper, Paprika to taste

1 onion, chopped finely

3 carrots, chopped finely

3 stalks of celery, chopped finely

4 cups of Vegetable/Chicken Broth

1 1/2 cup of arborio rice

2 tbsp of butter

1/4 cup of white wine

1/2 cup grated Parmigiana

Salt and Pepper to taste

Peel and cut the butternut squash and put all chopped pieces in a colander and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle of salt, pepper and paprika. On a covered cookie sheet lay out the pieces of squash and bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.

Once the squash is in the oven, move onto the risotto. In a separate sauce pan bring the vegetable/chicken stock to a boil.

In a large sauce pan add 1/2 tbsp of butter to the pan and then add the finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Add salt and pepper to taste – just a pinch, because you’ll continue to layer the flavors.

When the vegetables are softened add the rice to the pan on medium/low heat and let it saute until the pieces are translucent. When the rice is translucent add the first ladle of stock.

Let the rice simmer in the broth, stirring frequently, until it is completely absorbed. When the broth is absorbed add another ladle and continue the process of adding, stirring, absorbing until all of the stock is used up. You’ll notice that as the broth is being absorbed the rice with release it’s natural starchiness and become creamy.

After the last ladle, but before the broth is completely absorbed make a well in the rice and add a cup of the now roasted squash. Using a potato masher (or a spoon), mash up the cup of squash and combine it with the risotto. The mashed squash adds beautiful color and rich flavor.

Then add the rest of the squash, the remaining butter (in pieces) and the parmigiana cheese and gently stir all of the ingredients.

This is a perfect winter weeknight dinner, enjoy the comfort of good food!

Tag Archives: healthy italian

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Spring Vegetable Pasta

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

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