Hearty Pasta Dishes

Where would busy cooks be without pasta? It’s the perfect food when you want dinner in a hurry and need to accommodate both adults and children. Most varieties cook quickly enough to accommodate ravenous hunger, yet allow enough cooking time to prepare a simple sauce and a salad, with perhaps time to spare to cut some bread. Here are a handful of recipes in which pasta is combined with good sources of protein, making for satisfying main courses.

• Pasta with Vegan Alfredo Sauce
• Fettuccine with White Bean Sauce and Swiss Chard
• Pasta with Two Beans and Escarole
• Pasta Curry with Cauliflower and Chickpeas

Pasta with Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Serves: 6
Adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

If you’ve been looking for a healthier Alfredo sauce, here it is! This one’s mild and creamy, but harbors a fraction of the fat and calories of the traditional cream-based sauce.

• 2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated margarine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• One 12.3-ounce container silken tofu
• 1/2 cup rice milk
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 12 ounces pasta (see Note)
• Parmesan-style soy cheese for topping, optional

Cook the pasta in plenty of steadily boiling water until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the margarine in a small skillet. Add the garlic and sauté over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. Remove from the heat.

Combine the sautéed garlic and margarine with the tofu and rice milk in a food processor. Process until completely smooth and creamy.

Combine the pasta and sauce in a large serving bowl and toss together. Season with pepper and taste to see if you’d like to add more salt. If the mixture needs to be moister, add a small amount of additional rice milk and toss again. Serve at once, passing around soy Parmesan for topping, if desired.

Note: This works well with the traditional fettuccine, and is also nice with spinach ribbons, pappardelle, whole wheat pastas, medium or small seashells, and vegetable-filled tortellini.

Fettuccine with White Bean Sauce and Swiss Chard

Serves: 6
Adapted from Pasta East to West

Swiss chard is a beloved kitchen-garden vegetable in Italian cuisine. Combined with white beans and tomatoes, this stick-to-your-ribs dish will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

• 1 good-sized bunch fresh Swiss chard (10 to 12 ounces)
• 12- ounce package fettuccine (or substitute pappardelle)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/ 2 to 2 pounds diced ripe tomatoes (or substitute one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes if good tomatoes are unavailable)
• 15- to 16-ounce can large white beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup dark raisins or currants
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Remove and discard the stems and thicker mid-ribs from the Swiss chard leaves. Rinse the leaves well, then drain and coarsely chop them.

Cook the fettuccine in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in an extra-large saucepan or steep-sided stir-fry pan. Add the onions and garlic and sauté over medium-low heat until the onion is golden.

Add the wine and chard. Cover and cook just until the chard wilts down, stirring once or twice, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, beans, and raisins. Cook just until everything is well heated through, another 4 to 5 minutes.

Combine the fettuccine with the Swiss chard mixture in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss together gently and serve at once.

Variation: Use a package of green and white fettuccine for a particularly attractive effect. Or try using super-nourishing quinoa ribbons, available in natural foods stores.

Pasta with Two Beans and Escarole

Serves: 6
Adapted from Pasta East to West

Pasta, beans and greens is a classic trio in Italian cookery. It’s easy to see why—the combination is healthful and hearty. Escarole is a sturdy green whose slight bitterness is tempered by cooking. You’ll find it near the lettuces in the produce section. If you’d like, you can substitute an equal amount of curly chicory, or a medium-sized bunch of Swiss chard.

• 12 ounces fusilli or rotini
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-cured)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large head escarole, well washed, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
• 1 cup canned cannellini (large white beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 cup canned pink or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, combine the sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl with 1/2 cup hot water. Let soak until needed.

Heat about half of the oil in a large wide skillet. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over medium-low heat until golden, then add the escarole and cover. Steam with only the water clinging to the leaves until wilted, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Add the beans to the skillet along with the water used to soak the dried tomatoes. Cut the dried tomatoes into narrow strips and add them as well. cook just until everything is well heated through.

Combine the cooked pasta with the skillet mixture in a large serving bowl. Add the remaining olive oil and toss together. Serve at once.

Pasta Curry with Cauliflower and Chickpeas

Serves: 4 to 6

Though not a traditional combination, I long ago discovered that pasta takes well to curry. Try it and see!

• 8 to 10 ounces penne or ziti
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
• 4 cups bite-sized cauliflower florets and stems
• 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons good-quality curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup dark raisins
• 2 to 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until golden.

Add the cauliflower, bell pepper, tomatoes, curry powder and basil. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is just tender. Add the chickpeas and raisins and simmer for 5 minutes longer.

In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked pasta with the cauliflower mixture. Stir in the cilantro or parsley, then season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.