Healthy Pasta Meals

How did you celebrate World Pasta Day on October 25, 2015 this year? Every year an international conference known as World Pasta Day & Congress is held in Italy where diverse members from all over the world come together to celebrate all things pasta (my kind of event!) which was held this year in Milan, Italy from October 25 -27. Sorry I missed it!!  According to their website, worldpastaday2015.org, the event brings together popular food and lifestyle personalities and other notable speakers including chefs, nutritionists, medical consultants and others to tout the various attributes of pasta (including its nutritional, environmental and economic benefits).

Pasta as a food group has been badly maligned over the years especially during the so-called "no carbs" or "low carbs" food craze in recent years. In reality, when paired with the right ingredients and prepared properly (cooked "al dente") pasta has a low glycemic index - which is another good reason not to over cook your pasta. And it is easily available and makes a great low cost meatless meal. And those of us who appreciate the benefits of eating a healthy Mediterranean diet - which emphasizes less daily red meat consumption and cooking with good fats like extra virgin olive oil and healthy carbs like high fiber vegetables - love cooking with pasta!

If you are familiar with my "LegalEats" style of cooking you know that I like to prepare many different healthy pasta dishes for busy week night dinners. Pasta as a food group is even more nutritional these days thanks to the many types of whole grain and vegetable pasta varieties that are now widely available.  Just don't over cook your pasta - especially if you use the whole grain varieties, which can turn rubbery if over cooked. Pasta cooked "al dente"- firm to the bite, makes it a good low glycemic (slow sugar release) food group that makes it a healthy choice (especially if you pair it with lots of fresh veggies and/or lean protein and ditch the heavy cream sauces). And pasta makes a great meal alternative if you looking to cut back on your red meat consumption.

Whole grain pasta types, such as penne, orzo, or tortellini can be made simply and quickly with just a few ingredients such as fresh sautéed plum tomatoes (or if you do not prefer a red sauce try making a simple "sauce" with just fresh sautéed spinach or broccoli), garlic and olive oil. If you want a heartier pasta meal to feed a larger family, just add in your favorite lean protein such as stir fried or grilled white meat chicken or fresh shrimp or salmon and then mix in your favorite veggies lightly sautéed in olive oil (or roasted for a more intense flavor).

Here's a simple pasta dinner of spinach tortellini and grilled salmon that I recently made that came together quickly since both the tortellini and the grilled salmon each only took a few minutes to cook.

Spinach Tortellini with Grilled Salmon & Capers

salmontortellini.jpg

Ingredients

  • 1 (9 ounce) package of cheese Tortellini (either whole wheat or spinach variety)
  • 3 - 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons of capers, rinsed
  • 3/4 lb. fresh salmon fillet
  • 1/8 teaspoon each of garlic powder, turmeric, dried basil and/or oregano, salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper (or your favorite seafood seasoning blend)
  • 2 - 4 plum or Roma tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons of dry white wine
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • Small handful of fresh herbs (or 2 tablespoons of homemade pesto or store bought basil paste)
  • Small handful of salt for pasta water

Directions

  • Boil water, add salt and cook pasta according to package directions. Do not over cook the pasta.
  • Wash and pat dry salmon. Lightly coat salmon with olive oil and dried seasoning blend on both sides.
  • Cook seasoned salmon over a stove in a hot grill pan a few minutes each side or prepare outdoor grill until hot, add salmon and grill about 3-4 minutes each side. Let salmon rest a few minutes after cooking.
  • As salmon cooks, in a large separate sauté pan heat approximately 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil until hot.  Add quartered plum tomatoes, minced garlic and stir. Sauté a few minutes until tomatoes start to cook down. Add a few tablespoons of dry white wine and continue cooking a few minutes until all the alcohol in the wine evaporates out.
  • Add capers and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
  • Taste for seasoning (note - capers will add lots of salt flavor to tomato mixture so do not add more salt without tasting first).
  • Drain cooked pasta, reserving approximately 1/2 cup hot pasta water.
  • Add a small amount of reserved hot pasta water to cooked tomato mixture and heat through completely.
  • Add a handful of fresh herbs (such as basil and oregano) to heated tomato mixture (or if no fresh herbs are available, add 2-3 tablespoons of prepared basil paste in a tube - available where produce is sold in the grocery store).  Stir, heat and add more reserved hot pasta water if your tomato/caper mixture needs to be thinned out.
  • Add cooked pasta to tomato/caper mixture; add in grilled salmon cut into large chunks. Toss all together and serve.

Note: Makes approximately 2 servings. If more servings are needed, just double the amount of salmon (or any cooked lean protein you prefer) to serve 4. You can easily substitute any of your favorite veggies (such as grilled zucchini or asparagus) in place of the plum tomatoes since healthy pasta meals easily adapt to whatever veggies you have on hand.