Monday, April 14, 2014

Spring Veggie Pasta

Every year for Greek Easter, Mike's family adopts a vegetarian diet.  During Lent, many people fast of all animal products, but because that wasn't something four growing, football playing boys could manage, this has become the tradition. 

Last year, I managed to gain probably 5 pounds during our meat fast, largely because we subsided off pizza, pasta and grilled cheese.  This year, i'm vowing to keep it healthy and embrace more produce. 


This pasta dish is so simple and delicious. I love the sweet flavors of the corn and onion and because there are so many veggies, it's very fulfilling. A splash of cream adds just the touch of richness that you need, but you could also skip that for a lighter option. 



Ingredients:
* 1 small squash
* 1 small zucchini
* 2 plum tomatoes
* 1 bunch asparagus
* 1 small onion
*1 ear of corn
* 2 tbsp. olive oil
* 2 tbsp. heavy cream
* 1/3 c. parmesan cheese
*1 tbsp. fresh parsley
* 8 oz. whole wheat penne
* Salt, Pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Chop all of the vegetables, remove kernels from corn, and combine with olive oil, salt and pepper in a casserole dish. Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes, stirring once, or until the vegetables are tender.  Prepare pasta according to package directions and reserve 1 c. of the pasta water before draining.  Return the cooked pasta to the pan and stir in the vegetables, parmesan cheese and heavy cream.  Add pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is smooth.  Garnish with fresh parsley.  Enjoy! 


5 comments:

  1. This looks delightful! We don't eat meat on Fridays during lent, but this year my husband and I have both had to travel so much and work on the weekends, we haven't been able to be creative about cooking vegetarian dishes. I think this would be perfect in the summer team, maybe with some chicken as well, to add in some protein.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes- I was thinking it would be great with Shrimp too!

      Delete
  2. OMG, this looks delicious! I'm a vegetarian since '97 and I still have a hard time with pastas (and usually just avoid them) because they can obviously be so rich. This, on the other hand, looks light and yummy. Thanks so much for sharing and happy Easter to you and your family!

    ReplyDelete