Customizable Whole Wheat Linguine with Vegetables and Herbs

This is one of the easiest and tastiest ways I know to make a quick and healthy dinner. All you need to do is make a stir-fry of whatever vegetables you have in your refrigerator and then add it to whole wheat pasta. If you keep a box of pasta in your pantry then this is a great way to use up the vegetables that are left at the end of the week. I sometimes like to do the opposite, though, and I buy lots of vegetables specifically for this dish. Then for the rest of the week I not only have yummy leftover pasta to munch on but also a lovely assortment of raw vegetables to roast, steam, or saute for snacks and sides.

My husband is still about three weeks into recovery from an ulcer he developed around Christmas, so I am trying to cook very simple foods without a lot of spices, garlic, dairy, fat, citrus, tomatoes, vinegar....oy the list is too long. We've been doing a lot of veggie stir-fries over rice with fish or chicken, but putting the same stir-fry into a little bit of pasta is a great change! You'd be surprised how much wonderful flavor you get just from the herbs, veggies, and a good whole wheat pasta. This is a dish to play with - everything (except the pasta) is optional so if you don't like an ingredient or are trying to avoid certain foods feel free to look at the variations and customize the dish to your liking.



Note: There is time between each step here for you to chop the vegetables as you go along which saves a lot of prep time. But if you are not comfortable with your knife skills yet, you might want to get everything prepared before you start sauteing the onions.

Here is the recipe, exactly as I made it with options for variations below:

Whole Wheat Linguine With Vegetables and Herbs

Ingredients: (For 1 lb. of Pasta, makes enough for 6 people. Recipe works nicely halved.)

A few tablespoons olive oil
1 lb good quality whole wheat linguine
1 small yellow onion (about 1 cup), diced
1/2-3/4 head of cauliflower (about 2 cups), chopped into bite sized pieces
2 small heads of broccoli (about 2 cups), chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 C frozen peas
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2-1 C finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put a large pot of water over high heat on the back burner and leave to boil. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add a handful of salt and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.

In the meantime, start chopping the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add chopped onion and a little salt and cook for about five minutes, until onions are translucent and just beginning to brown on the edges. Add chopped broccoli and cauliflower and let cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until just fork tender. If the pan gets too dry and your vegetables start to get brown, try lowering the heat slightly and adding another tablespoon of oil or some of the starchy hot water from the pasta pot. Add frozen peas and red pepper. Cook another few minutes until all vegetables are tender.

Add chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a dash more olive oil. Cook 1 minute longer. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add strained pasta to the pan and mix well. Serve in pasta bowls topped with Parmesan cheese if using.

Variations:

You can use any vegetables in this dish. Some others I suggest are:

Vegetables to be added at the same time/instead of the red peppers and peas:

• Chopped spinach
• Julienne zucchini or yellow squash

Vegetables to be added at the same time/instead of the cauliflower and broccoli:

• Carrots, cut in half moons
• Asparagus, ends removed and cut into 1" pieces
• Snow peas
• Green beans or haricot verts, cut in half

Other optional additions:

• Crushed red pepper flakes (add at end)
• Chopped basil (or any other herb you like - add at same time as parsley)
• Minced garlic (add after the onion)

Here's another customization we made using penne,  peas, carrots, broccoli, and red and yellow bell peppers.