What do you do when a member of the family is vegetarian and you’ve been raised on nothing but meat? Get creative! I knew that not every recipe in my entree pile contained meat, and sure enough as I pored through the ingredients of several untested recipe clippings, I found several that were completely meat-free. Winner! This is not only great for serving up to the non-meat eaters in the family, but also great for those still keeping their weight loss New Year’s Resolutions!
My first meal to test was one that I had perused several times, but never had the nerve to make for my meat and potatoes guys. This came from a clipping torn from one of those healthy recipe tabloid magazines you see at the grocery check out. The photo looked absolutely mouth watering…healthy veggies all mixed in with a lovely colorful pasta. Linguine with vegetables, but not just your typical linguine…this dish is made with whole wheat linguine…hence the reason for the toasty colored pasta. Not your typical off-white pasta that my guys like to order in their chicken Alfredo dishes. I was a little unsure how this recipe would be received. Would the pasta be too weighty for the vegetables? Would there be enough taste to the dish? Would my typical meat eaters be satisfied with a plate of this or would they be poking their forks about madly, ever hopeful of finding a stray meatball?
This recipe shouldn’t have put me off. Although the linguine takes a bit longer to cook than your typical pasta, I taste tested it several times to make sure that the noodles were neither tough or chewy. No one wants to eat a husky pasta. The yellow peppers, red onion, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and snippets of lemon peel give the dish an absolutely beautiful appeal. Could you add more vegetables if you wanted? Sure. What else might I have added? Mushrooms, some red peppers, maybe even broccoli. However, adding these might have altered the taste a bit and overwhelmed the pasta. I left the red pepper flakes and shredded Parmesan as sides for everyone to add as little or as much as they wanted. Turned out wonderful. Made the vegetarian very happy and even satisfied the carnivore’s tooth.
Linguine with Vegetables
12 oz. whole wheat linguine
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1” chunks
2 yellow peppers, cut into strips
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
12 sun-dried tomato halves, dry-packed without oil
1 pkg (10 oz.) spinach, stems removed (I used baby spinach…no stem removal necessary!)
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (you can always set these as a side)
2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese (or more if you’re like us!)
Prepare linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers and garlic; cook 3 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender. Add vegetable broth, wine and sun dried tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes or until tomatoes are softened. Add spinach; cover and cook 3 minutes. Add linguine, lemon peel and red pepper flakes; toss gently. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Suze's Adventures 