Appetite for Reduction_ 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [65]
I haven’t met a veggie that doesn’t do well sautéed with a lot of garlic and some freshly ground black pepper. Throw some pasta into the mix and you’ve got yourself a meal. Many veggies release lots of tasty juices when cooking, but add some veggie broth to help it along. Check out the Pasta con Broccoli recipe (page 169) for a base, but also check out the veggie chapter. Recipes like Sautéed Escarole (page 107), Garlicky Mushrooms & Kale (page 89), and Shaved Brussels Sprouts (page 92) are dying to be tossed with some pasta. And don’t be scared of using pasta in nontraditional (read: not Italian) ways. Those Mushroom Tibs (page 95) or Curried Cabbage and Peas (page 111) would make great pasta dishes. Also, check out the veggie steaming chapter and add your favorites to pasta, then smother in sauces. Maybe you have some veggie favorites that you can adapt into pasta dishes.
PERFECT PASTA TOOL CHECKLIST
● 4-quart pot
● Pasta spoon (that’s a large spoon with rounded prongs, making it easy to stir and serve the pasta)
● Big colander
And just a last note about time management: To get your pasta dishes on the table in under 30 minutes, remember to start boiling the water before you do anything else. In the 10 minutes it takes to boil the water, you can probably get all your prepping done and even have some onions and veggies sautéing away.
TIP
It’s fairly rare with dried varieties, but once in a while, egg or dairy products sneak their way into your pasta’s ingredients list. It never hurts to check the ingredients, especially with the ease of bolded allergy information that most packaging has these days.
A handful of beans goes a long way in pastas. Some of my favorites to use are kidney, cannellini, my beloved chickpea, and navy or great northern beans. But don’t just toss the beans in at the end, add them to the veggies in the pan and let them cook for a few minutes so that they absorb some flavor. Also, check out the Miso Udon stir-fry with Greens & Beans (page 95) and Pasta de los Angeles (page 111) for unorthodox use of beans in pasta. You can also use some of the bean recipes as sauce bases for pasta. The Chickpea Piccata (page 115) and Mushroom-Cannellini Paprikas (page 127), are both good contenders.
And no need to skimp on the sauce! Use fresh tomato or marinara sauces, broth-based garlicky sauces, or any of the sauces in this chapter and pour them on. You might even like some of the dressings in this section as pasta sauces; you never know.
Bon appétit!
The Pocket Pasta Guide
Not all pastas are created equal! Store this info in your brain for the next time you are standing dumbfounded in the pasta aisle.
SEMOLINA (A.K.A. REGULAR OLD PASTA)
Semolina pasta, made from durum wheat, may be somewhat nutritionally inferior to whole wheat, but it’s not without some good nutrition. If white pasta is your thing, well, go for it; it certainly won’t kill you. It has about 2 grams of fiber per 2-ounce serving and it is enriched with iron and B vitamins. When you load it up with nutrient-dense, fiber-rich vegetables, enriched pasta can be a healthy vehicle for a plant-based meal.
WHOLE WHEAT PASTA
Whole wheat pasta is much more than starch. The complex carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber keep you feeling full and have a lower glycemic index than does enriched pasta, meaning it won’t spike your blood sugar. A 2-ounce serving has a whopping 8 grams of protein and naturally occurring iron and B vitamins that are lost when whole grains are refined. It’s also a good source of magnesium, which is a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes, including how insulin and glucose are used by the body.
New whole wheat brands are popping up all the time, so definitely keep an open mind (and an open shopping cart) and give a few different kinds a shot. My favorite brand right now is Bionaturae: It not only tastes the closest to good old semolina pasta,