pasta and veggies Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Good food doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact some of our favorite meals are very simple and not complicated at all. For a few dollars and less than 30 minutes you could have this on your table, and probably some leftovers for lunch the next day.

We enjoy meatless meals often. Sometimes I walk up to the meat counter and do a blank stare.

Been there, done that, did it! Don’t get me wrong, we’re meat eaters, but I have to say my favorite sections at the markets are the produce sections, I just love the variety, in fact that’s where I spend most of my money!

For this dish, cut your zucchini into coins and saute in olive oil till golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. In the meantime have your water boiling for your 1lb of pasta. In the same pan you sauteed your zucchini, add 2 shaved garlic cloves and about 1/4 cup of olive oil cook till light golden, also add some pine nuts till toasty. Add your cooked pasta and about 3/4 cup of reserved pasta water.

Turn off your heat, add back your zucchini, a good amount of grated romano, and chopped fresh parsley. Toss gently.

Believe it or not I’ve never had a veggie garden, I usually only want to grow tons of herbs, especially my beloved basil!

This year hubby’s going to try organic veggies (he’s the gardener) he just broke ground on Saturday. I’ll show you how things go as we progress.

Buon Appetito!!

Veggie Ribbon Pasta

Are you craving some lighter food right about now? I know I am! This pasta dish will satisfy that craving, and you won’t sacrifice any flavor at all!

Thin ribbons of zucchini and carrot, that are lightly sauteed in olive oil along with paper thin sliced garlic, then tossed with fettuccine, grated lemon peel, finely chopped fresh parsley and basil. Finished off with a grating of pecorino romano and a few toasted pinenuts. It’s so good!!!

Just take your vegetable peeler and make ribbons out of your zucchini and carrots, then slice up your garlic paper thin, by using either a knife, or a garlic slicer, (which I used). See all that garlic in the photo? I used it all! 5 or 6 cloves, believe me it makes the dish! I also used 3 nice size carrots and 4 nice size zucchini.

Grab the biggest saute pan you have, drizzle in some olive oil, and saute all of your garlic till it gets limp, which doesn’t take long because it’s so thin. Next, throw in all your veggies and gently keep tossing them with tongs till they become limp and their natural juices come out. Keep them slightly al dente. Have your water boiling for your pasta, I used 1/2 lb of fettuccine cooked al dente, but you could also use tagliatelle, or papadelle.

After you drain your pasta, lightly toss it in with your veggie mixture, be sure to get all the juices from the veggies, and garlic incorporated. Grate the rind of one whole lemon, toss in your chopped fresh basil, and parsley, and freshly grated pecorino romano, additional salt & pepper, and maybe a drizzle more of olive oil. Garnish with some toasted pine nuts if you want.

I make this dish because we love the way it tastes, but then I was thinking, in reality it practically costs nothing to make, and in these hard economic times, this would be a healthy and economical meal to feed a family with. Locally, and world wide, there are many people less fortunate than us.

Raising awareness of world hunger is something going on throughout the blogging community, that’s why I’m sending this dish off to my blogger friends Val, of More Than Burnt Toast, Giz and Psychgrad, of Equal Opportunity Kitchen, and Ivy, of Kopiaste. A group of caring bloggers who have joined forces for this wonderful cause. They started BloggerAid, please click on the link to find out more about their mission, and how we all can help.