I haven’t been cooking as much as I would like to be, but one meal that I have consistently made is hot pasta salad. It is a versitale, delicous dish that you can make for yourself, or for a large group of people. It started with a recipe from Joanne Stepaniak’s Table for Two — Michael’s Hot Pasta Salad:
Yields 2 servings:
1 cup small pasta
2 cups cauliflower or broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1/2 of a red or green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 of a medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
1 medium sized zucchini or yellow squash,sliced in half moons
approximately 2/3 cup salad dressing, as needed
salt and ground pepper, to taste
In a 4 1/2 quart sauce pan, cook the pasta until al dente, drain and return to the pan. Cover and keep warm. Set aside.
Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower or broccoli for about 5-8 minutes or until just tender. Layer the bell pepper, onion, and crushed red pepper over the broccoli and steam for 3 -4 more minutes. Next, layer on the zucchini and steam ll the veggies for about 5 minutes longer, or until everything is tender to your liking.
Stir the steamed veggies into the reserved pasta. Toss with enough dressing to moisten everything. Season with salt and pepper.
After following that basic recipe, I have altered it a bit. Here are my changes/suggestions:
- I have a steamer basket, so while boiling the pasta, I just steam the veggies on top. Or, I boil the veggies with the pasta.
- I don’t follow her suggestions for vegetable, I just use handfuls of whatever i have around, which is often just greens.
- I use frozen veggies a lot for this, some mixed vegetable thing, or just a bag of frozen greens. I often go to a grocery and find the pre-bagged greens mixes, like from Cut and Clean Greens, and find them reduced for a short date, and I will just throw the bag in the freezer, and take out hand fulls for this dish (or any soup/pasta/cooked greens dish).
- I have used leftover stir-fry type things in there, just add to the pasta once it’s drained and heat up in the pan.
- I have also used ramen noodles for this. Just add greens, beans, and vegenaise. Embarrassing.
- Per Stepaniak’s suggestion, I generally add beans, tempeh, tofu, fake meat, etc; to make a more substantial meal. I sometimes keep the Tofurky or Field Roast sausages in the freezer, then pull one out and throw it on the steamer with the veggies, cutting it up before I mix them.
- I have also used grains instead of pasta, like rice or millet.
- Instead of using salad dressing, I use vegenaise and add seasoning: curry, Vegetarian Express Saucy Ranch Seasoning, Spike, herbs ‘d Provence, etc
- When making food just for myself, I will premeasure out the pasta and veggies in a bowl that I will eat out of.
- My favorite combo is: garbanzo beans and Mixed Country Greens with curry powder.
This can be on the table (or on your lap in front of the computer) in less than 10 minutes, depending on the pasta and veggies you choose. It can also be made as healthy or unhealthy as you like, it can easily be made gluten or soy free. Endless.
Tags: easy dinner
