Recipe of the Week: Sauteed Veggie Pasta

The recipe of the week this week is a great mid-week recipe–the concept is quite simple and quite delicious. It’s a simple but very delicious pasta that you can easily pair with a salad for a nutritious meal.

What you need

2 zucchinis
1 med squash
a fair amount of olive oil
garlic
onions
red and green peppers
basil, parsley oregano
One to one – and – a – half pounds of spaghetti (preferably whole wheat)
Kosher salt

Directions

In a large iron skillet, combine the (hopefully fresh) basil, parsley, oregano, and garlic with liberal amounts of olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients. Drizzle liberally with more olive or vegetable oil. Add kosher salt and other spices to taste, and then cover the skillet with a suitably large lid, and sauté until the mixture is soft. This mixture is the “sauce” for your pasta. It is totally 100% delicious this way, though if you want an extra burst of flavor, you can add some pesto to the mix. This really is unnecessary, though of course it is also delicious.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring water to a rapid boil. Add salt and a dash of vegetable or olive oil to boiling water (to prevent the spaghetti from clumping). Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, rinse, and set aside. Cover the pasta to keep it warm, or else wait until you are 10 minutes into preparation of the vegetable medley to start making the spaghetti. When both components are done, you can either top the spaghetti with the sauteed veggies, or you can cook the spaghetti in the pan with the veggies. My pan isn’t big enough to really make this feasible, so I chose the first option, though if you have enormous pans, go for it.

You can pair this dinner with a salad, and top that salad with my Indian Fried Chicken.

To go with the dinner, I recommend a variation on simple mint tea. You just need some mint leaves (if you don’t have any, plant some – they don’t take long to grow, and they are fantastic in so many entrees, snacks, drinks, and desserts.) So just bring a big pot of water to a low boil, and then turn off the heat. Wait a minute or two for the temperature to fall just below boiling, and then add a small fistful of fresh mint leaves. Let them steep for 10 minutes, and then squeeze the juice of 5-6 oranges into the mixture. (Halve an orange and squeeze the juice out into the tea. It’s just that simple.) Then add agave nectar or honey to taste, and serve warm or iced. It is really delicious!

Let me know what you thought of these recipes! Happy Cooking!

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/moria/120488327

See also:

Comments

Jane @ Fish Shower Curtain says:

June 9, 2010 at 6:39 am

This is a nice idea, but I don’t think whole whet pasta is the right choice…too grainy. Rather than using plain old semolina pasta, I think a good choice is something like Barilla Plus, which is higher in fiber, Omega-3′s and fiber, but not as grainy in texture as whole wheat.