Saturday, December 19, 2009

What are some easy vegetarian pasta recipes?

mac and cheese doesn't count!What are some easy vegetarian pasta recipes?
VEGETARIAN PASTA





1 bunch broccoli, coarsely chopped


2 lg. onions, coarsely chopped


1/2 c. olive oil


Clove garlic, minced


8 oz. ziti or other pasta


1/2 c. Parmesan cheese


1 c. chick peas


Ground pepper





In a large skillet heat olive oil. Add onions and garlic. Saute for 10 minutes. Add broccoli and ground pepper. Saute for 10 minutes. When pasta is done, drain and return to pot. Toss with skillet vegetables, Parmesan cheese and chick peas.





OR





VEGETARIAN MUSHROOM PASTA





2 tbsp. olive oil


1 lb. fresh mushrooms, halved


3 cloves garlic, minced


2/3 c. white wine


2 lg. tomatoes, cut into 3/4 inch chunks


3/4 c. green onions, sliced


1/2 c. Italian parsley or basil leaves, packed


Salt %26amp; cracked black pepper


8 oz. penne, orecchiette, rotelle or spaghetti pasta, cooked as directed on pkg.





Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, saute mushrooms and garlic, tossing occasionally, 4 minutes. Add wine, bring to boil and reduce wine by half. Stir in tomatoes, onions and herbs, heat just until hot. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over hot pasta. Sprinkle with cheese if desired. Makes about 4 servings.





OR





VEGETARIAN PASTA





6 c. tomatoes, chunked (do not skin)


1 lg. yellow onion, chopped


1 bunch green onions, chopped


2 c. celery, chopped


2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced


1/2 c. basil leaves, chopped fine if using fresh


3 tbsp. virgin olive oil


2 - 3 c. feta cheese, crumbled


1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)


Tomato sauce


Any pasta you prefer





In a deep frying pan, saute the onions, celery and garlic in the olive oil. Saute gently at low heat until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, bail and cayenne pepper. Cook, uncovered, until tomatoes are soft. Cook the pasta in the meantime and drain well. Place on serving platter. Top with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately.





OR





VEGETARIAN SAUCE WITH WHOLE-WHEAT


PASTA





2 tbsp. olive oil


6 green onions, with tops, chopped


1 lg. red or white onion, chopped


4 cloves garlic, minced


8 oz. mushrooms, sliced


2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped


2 med. red, green or yellow bell peppers, chopped


1 (16 oz.) can vegetarian beans or 1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans


1 c. water


1/2 c. dry red wine (optional)


1/4 c. minced fresh parsley


1 bay leaf


1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano


1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil


Freshly ground black pepper to taste


12 oz. whole-wheat pasta


4 oz. part-skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded





Serves 6. 1 1/2 c. per serving.


In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta and cheese, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 1 hour, stirring frequently. Remove bay leaf before serving.





Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt. Rinse and drain. Serve sauce over hot pasta. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons shredded cheese per serving.





OR





FRESH VEGETABLE SAUTE WITH PASTA





8 oz. (2 1/4 c.) uncooked pasta nuggets


2 tbsp. vegetable oil


1 c. chopped onion


1/2 c. chopped celery


1/2 c. sliced carrots


2 garlic cloves, minced


1 med. green pepper, coarsely chopped


1 med. zucchini, sliced


2 tsp. oregano


1 tsp. sugar


1/2 tsp. salt


1/4 tsp. pepper


6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped





Cook pasta - keep warm.


Heat oil, saute onions, celery, carrots and garlic for 1-2 minutes.





Add remaining ingredients, except tomatoes and pasta. Saute vegetables until crisp tender. Stir in tomatoes, cook until thoroughly heated and slightly thickened. Toss with pasta.





OR





CURLY PASTA WITH VEGETABLES IN GREEN


MEXICAN SALSA





15 fresh tomatillos, or 1 can (12 oz.) tomatillos, drained


2-3 fresh or canned hot chili peppers, seeded


1 clove garlic


1 c. chopped yellow onion


1/4 c. chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)


1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. vegetable oil


1 lb. long fusilli (curly long strands) or other fancifully shaped pasta


1 sm. red onion, chopped


2 med. sized ripe tomatoes, chopped


1 lg. green or gold sweet pepper, chopped


1 c. cooked chopped prickly pear cactus leaves or nopalitos (see note)


1/2 c. finely minced fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro)


Salt


1/2 c. freshly grated queso Chihuahua or Parmesan cheese


Fresh coriander (cilantro)


Sprigs (garnish)


Red onion, thinly sliced into rings %26amp; rings separated (garnish)





As an alternative to this festive buffet dish for any season, serve the pasta in halved avocados for the opening to a sit down Mexican meal.


1. To make salsa, remove and disregard dry husk from fresh tomatillos, wash and boil in water to cover until barely tender. Drain boiled or canned tomatillos and combine with chili peppers, garlic, yellow onion and chopped coriander in a blender or food processor. Puree to chunky texture, about 5 seconds. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a frying panWhat are some easy vegetarian pasta recipes?
I like to make vegetarian chili and serve it over either pasta or rice. This site has several good vegetarian chili recipes.


http://www.chili-everyway.com/vegetarian鈥?/a>





They are very yummy. You can always change up what you include in the chili. The site gives you ideas on how to have chili your way





Enjoy! This certainly won't be mac and cheese. Although you could make chili mac with any leftover chili. Or freeze the leftovers for a future dinner
Enjoy the wholesome goodness of my world famous Carrot Spaghetti:





Ingredients:





3 medium carrots


2 small cloves garlic


1/4 of an onion, diced (optional)


3 tablespoon olive oil


1/4 teaspoon salt


freshly ground pepper


1/4 cup of your favorite pasta sauce





Directions:





Wash the wholesome carrots well, especially if they are not organic. With a vegetable peeler, peel the wholesome carrots into long thing strips and sprinkle with salt. Finely dice the garlic and onion (if desired).





Coat the bottom of a large pan with the olive oil and heat on medium-high heat. When hot, add the wholesome carrots. Toss frequently (this works well with tongs). When the wholesome carrots start to soften, add the garlic and pepper (add onion here too if you like). Keep tossing for a couple of minutes until some of the carrots get brown around the edges (don't burn!) and the garlic is golden.





Serve with your favorite pasta sauce.
Pasta Primavera





Ingredients


3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips


2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips


2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips


1 onion, thinly sliced


1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips


1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips


1/4 cup olive oil


Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence


1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)


15 cherry tomatoes, halved


1/2 cup grated Parmesan


Directions


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.





On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.





Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.





Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

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