Andiamo! Creative Pasta Dishes
By Nancy Berkoff, RD, EdD, CCE
Who doesn't like a pasta dish? What could be easier? Boil up some water, throw in the pasta, toss with sauce and you've got dinner! It's even possible to avoid waiting for the water to boil with some "no boil" dried pastas or with fresh pastas.
The first step is to decide what type of pasta to use. Dried pasta stores for a long period of time, is versatile, and is available in many varieties. Fresh eggless pasta has a wonderful texture, can be quite gourmet, and cooks in what seems like only a minute or two. There are "no boil" and even "already cooked" forms of wheat pasta ready to try. Wheat noodles are available in many flavors: tomato, spinach, lemon-pepper, carrot, to name a few. There are also many shapes and also varieties such as extra protein or gluten free.
There is a world of pasta beyond wheat. Rice noodles have a neutral flavor that works well with many cuisines and hot and cold applications. The texture of rice noodles can be manipulated depending on the length of time they are cooked. Cooked for a short time, they can be chewy, great for a cold salad. Cooked for a longer time, they can add a comfort food element to a dish. For a special occasion they can be wok-fried and crispy.
Soba, or buckwheat noodles, can be used for cuisines ranging from Japanese to Russian and work well hot or cold. Check out South Asian stores for mung bean, lentil, or black bean pasta. Although not strictly pasta, Arborio rice, often called "risotto," makes its own creamy sauce, from heating and mixing the starchy rice with hot water and patience. Risotto is wonderful on its own, perhaps with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, or mixed with mushrooms, peas, pimentos, olives, walnuts, crumbled veggie burgers, or smoked tofu.
If you have the time, you may want to forego grain- based pasta and invest in a cutting tool that allows you to cut squash or eggplant into pasta shapes or to cut cauliflower into "rice." Spaghetti squash is easily steamed or baked and then manipulated into spaghetti-like strands.
Pastas have a great flavor, but pasta does like to have a bit of company. Tomato-based sauces can range from open-the-jar to simmer-all-day, depending on your time. If open-the-jar suits you, be certain to personalize it with minced fresh summer squash, bell peppers, chilies, carrots, celery, onions, fresh or canned mushrooms or olives, fresh or dried garlic, parsley, lemon rind, oregano, sage or basil, and/or enhance the tomato flavor with tomato pasta or diced fresh or canned tomatoes.
If you have the time, you may want to create a vegan marinara, simmering your personalized tomato sauce with some vegan "meat" crumbles or crumbled veggie burgers, smoked tofu, or flavored seitan. Using a slow cooker or crock pot, assemble a puttanesca sauce (recipe on the next page). This assertive sauce can be tossed with pasta or used to fill ravioli, stuff shells, or layer lasagna. If you have some extra olive oil and fresh basil or spinach, you can whirl together a pesto in the blender, using walnuts or pine nuts and nutritional yeast to create a sauce that works well hot or cold.
A vegan creamy sauce is easy to achieve. Select ingredients with which you are comfortable, such as nutritional yeast, almond or coconut milk (the refrigerated, lower fat type of coconut milk, rather than the canned, higher fat type), silken tofu, or winter squash. Winter squash can be cooked, mashed or puréed, mixed with vegan milk, heated and stirred until hot and creamy. You can find frozen, puréed winter squash in most markets in the frozen vegetable aisle. Silken tofu, thinned with a bit of vegan milk, can be heated and combined with a small amount of tomato purée for a creamy tomato sauce or combined with nutritional yeast and some finely grown cashews to create a "cheesy," creamy sauce. If you have the time, you may want to create a homemade cashew cheese, which can then be thinned with some vegan milk or combine cooked, puréed white beans with nutritional yeast for a cheesy sauce.
Note: For the pasta rolls and mac and cheese recipes below, if you have the time, you may want to roast a head of garlic (wrap an entire head of garlic in foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes until very soft). Allow to cool, peel, and use as a savory garnish or mash into a paste and serve on the side as a condiment.
Be certain to make extras when creating your pasta dishes. Most hold up to refrigeration or even freezing and you'll want to have plenty on hand! Buon appetito!
Puttanesca Spaghetti
(Serves 6-8)
Use any type of fresh or dried pasta with this sauce. Or you can layer cooked lasagna noodles with crumbled firm tofu tossed with nutritional yeast and this sauce to create a fast lasagna to bake.
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 chopped garlic cloves (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 3 cups canned, no-salt diced tomatoes with juice (packed in purée if you can find it)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh shredded basil or 1 Tablespoon dried basil
- 1/2 cup diced, pitted black olives
- 1 Tablespoon drained capers (pickled vegetable type) or 1 Tablespoon minced green olives
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1 pound box of spaghetti
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
Heat oil in a large pot. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, basil, black olives, capers or green olives, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Allow to simmer until ready to use.
Boil 4 quarts of water and cook spaghetti until tender. Drain, return to pot. Toss with sauce, top with parsley and nutritional yeast, and serve hot.
| Total calories per serving: 413 | Fat: 12 grams |
| Carbohydrates: 65 grams | Protein: 13 grams |
| Sodium: 158 milligrams | Fiber: 5 grams |
Spinach Ricotta
(Makes 2-2 1/2 cups)
Use this creamy filling to layer lasagna, to fill pasta (such as ravioli), or top pizza or crostini.
- 12 ounces (1-1/2 cups) firm tofu, pressed and drained
(will be less after the pressing and draining) - 3 cups washed, fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and combine until spinach is chopped. Don't purée — you want a slightly grainy texture. Refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to use it.
| Total calories per 1/4-cup serving: 111 | Fat: 4 grams |
| Carbohydrates: 9 grams | Protein: 12 grams |
| Sodium: 18 milligrams | Fiber: 4 grams |
Pasta Roll Ups with Spinach Ricotta
(Serves 12)
This recipe can be prepared and refrigerated for up to three days. Try it with plain or spinach lasagna sheets or fresh squash, cut into pasta-sheet shapes, fresh Mediterranean flatbread, or flour tortillas.
- 5 cups prepared tomato sauce
- 12 sheets of lasagna noodles, cooked al dente and cooled
- 2 cups spinach ricotta
- 2 cups (about 1 pound) roughly chopped fresh button-type mushrooms
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a large baking dish (about 3 quarts or 12-x12-x6-inch), coat the bottom with a very thin layer of sauce. Set aside.
To create roll ups, place one noodle flat on a large plate. Spread a thin layer of spinach ricotta, a thin layer of sauce, and a sprinkle of mushrooms on the noodle and roll up. Place in the baking dish (with the roll ups horizontal, standing up) and pack closely together. Repeat until you run out of filling or the dish is full.
Cover with sauce, cover with foil or a lid, and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serve hot, right out of the oven, or allow to cool in refrigerator, cut up and serve as a cold appetizer.
| Total calories per serving: 219 | Fat: 4 grams |
| Carbohydrates: 34 grams | Protein: 13 grams |
| Sodium: 413 milligrams | Fiber: 6 grams |
Avocado Lasagna
(Serves 4-6)
If fresh, ripe avocados aren't available, see if your grocery store stocks frozen or canned avocado purée.
- Vegetable oil spray
- 8 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained, and cooled
- 1-1/2 cups mashed avocado
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon shredded fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 cup shredded fresh spinach leaves
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh tomatoes or canned, drained chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 2 cups tomato sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish (12x12x6-inch) with vegetable oil. Cover bottom of dish with 4 lasagna noodles. Set aside the pan and the remaining noodles.
In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except for tomato sauce and remaining noodles and mix until well combined.
Spoon a small amount of sauce onto the noodles and spread to coat. Spoon avocado filling onto the noodles and distribute evenly. Spoon a small amount of sauce to top the filling. Top the avocado filling and sauce with remaining noodles. Top with remaining sauce. Cover and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes.
| Total calories per serving: 401 | Fat: 15 grams |
| Carbohydrates: 57 grams | Protein: 12 grams |
| Sodium: 495 milligrams | Fiber: 12 grams |
Vegan Mac and Cheese
(Serves 5)
Potato is the secret ingredient for this "creamy," traditional mac and cheese! Eat in moderation as a treat.
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced baking potato (Russet or Idaho)
- 1 cup peeled and thinly sliced carrots
- 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups melted vegan margarine
- 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3 Tablespoons almond or coconut milk (refrigerated, not canned)
- 8 ounces uncooked elbow noodles (1 cup)
Place potatoes, carrots, and onions in a pot, cover with water and simmer until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Place potato mixture along with remaining ingredients, except for noodles, into the canister of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy. Leave in canister.
Cook noodles following package directions, most probably with 3 quarts of boiling water, until al dente. Strain and return to pot. Re-blend sauce for 20 seconds, just to combine. Pour sauce over drained noodles, mix and serve!
Note: Some of my students tell me that "macaroni and cheese" pizza is very popular. A semi-baked pizza crust is topped with tomato sauce and covered with prepared macaroni and cheese and then baked until crust is done and macaroni and cheese is hot... sounds interesting!
| Total calories per serving: 765 | Fat: 55 grams |
| Carbohydrates: 53 grams | Protein: 15 grams |
| Sodium: 608 milligrams | Fiber: 7 grams |
Squash and Mac
(Serves 4-6)
The pumpkin provides texture, color, and creaminess to this recipe. Be certain to purchase canned pumpkin purée, rather than "pumpkin pie filling."
- 2 Tablespoons vegan margarine
- 1 Tablespoon flour (used for thickening; your choice of flour)
- 3/4 cup vegan milk (your choice)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard (not prepared mustard)
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- Vegetable oil spray
- 4 cups cooked and drained elbow noodles (start with 1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt margarine in a large pot, over medium heat. Add flour, stirring constantly, to create a paste (a roux). When margarine and flour are very well combined into a paste, usually not more than 40 seconds, slowly pour in milk, stirring or whisking. The sauce will gradually thicken; be patient. When the sauce has begun to thicken, lower heat. Stir in garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and mustard and continue to stir until desired thickness is achieved, usually three minutes or less. Remove from heat and stir in pumpkin purée and pepper.
Spray 3-quart baking dish with oil. Combine noodles and sauce in the dish, cover and bake for about 15 minutes until bubbly. Serve hot.
| Total calories per serving: 289 | Fat: 8 grams |
| Carbohydrates: 42 grams | Protein: 13 grams |
| Sodium: 90 milligrams | Fiber: 6 grams |
Note: Calculated with soymilk.
Nancy Berkoff is a regular to contributor to Vegetarian Journal. She is The Vegetarian Resource Group Food Service Advisor.
