- If you need some new pasta ideas
that aren't just tomato or cream sauce,
I have a few ideas for you.
Today, I'm sharing three delicious pasta dishes
that's not only super easy to make,
they're loaded with veggies and flavor.
So when it comes time for pasta night,
your pastabilities are endless.
We're starting off
with a creamy, but light Pasta al Limone
that's full of freshness and flavor.
First, I'm gonna prep my lemon.
I'm shaving off a piece of lemon peel
and I'm gonna cut this piece
into thin strips for garnish later.
Then I'm gonna zest the rest of this lemon
into another bowl,
and we'll squeeze out the rest of the juice.
We're using every bit of this lemon
so nothing goes to waste.
Next, we'll go ahead and cook our pasta.
I like using spaghetti for this dish.
It really grips the creamy sauce
and it's just fun to twirl.
After it's done cooking,
I'll drain it and then keep some of the pasta water
for insurance later.
Now, let's cook everything off.
In a pan, I'll start with some butter,
let it melt,
and then we'll just add in two cloves of minced garlic.
Some people use shallots,
some people don't use anything at all,
but I love garlic so I'm gonna use it.
I'll also add in the lemon zest from earlier
to give it that fried, lemony taste.
Ah, that smells so good.
And then once it's nice and fragrant a minute later,
I'll add in a cup of our cream,
the lemon juice,
and some Parmesan cheese.
We'll stir it all up
and then as it starts to thicken,
I'm gonna add in our cooked pasta.
I'm gonna keep stirring it
until it becomes a beautiful, creamy consistency.
If the sauce is too thick,
just go ahead and add in 1/4 cup of pasta water
to loosen it up.
Cream sauce will always thicken up as it cools,
so I always err on the side of a looser sauce.
Then I'm gonna take it off heat
and add in my fresh veggies,
some arugula, and cherry tomatoes.
You can also add in fresh baby kale or spinach,
or just leave it out if you don't want it in there.
And now we can serve.
As I plate, I'll rotate the plate
so that we get a beautiful nest.
And then we just top our Pasta al Limone
with some more Parmesan,
black pepper,
and the strips of lemon zest
that we worked on earlier.
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This Pasta al Limone is simply the zest.
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A red pasta sauce that's more than just tomatoes?
That's right, I'm gonna add some pep in our step
by infusing red bell peppers into our sauce
to give it a smokey and velvety texture
with a hint of sweetness
that'll take your pasta night
to the next level.
Let's start by boiling a pot of salted water
to cook off our pasta.
Nice and salty like the ocean.
I'm using two medium-sized bell peppers here
that I'll chop into large chunks.
Just get rid of any seeds
if you accidentally cut any.
And then I'll just add it to a bowl
and drizzle it with some olive oil and salt to season.
I like pan roasting the peppers
with some onions and garlic.
So I'm gonna throw in half an onion
and two whole cloves of garlic
to mix with the peppers.
Now we'll just give it a quick toss
to coat everything with the olive oil,
and now we're ready to char it up.
Now, onto a grill pan on medium-high heat,
I'll let it get nice and hot,
and then we'll just char our bell peppers
in the aromatics for a few minutes
until the pepper skin is light charred.
Personally, I like blending the skin into the sauce
so I'm not gonna char it too much,
but just enough so it gives off that nice, smokey flavor.
So once we're done,
I'm just gonna move all the veggies back into the bowl,
and then we're gonna pull out our blender.
I'm gonna add in one cup of marinara.
Here, I'm using tomato basil,
but if you don't have that available,
just use a can of crushed tomato
and add some Italian seasoning right in.
We wanna infuse our basic tomato sauce
with the red bell peppers,
and just not overwhelm it either way.
We'll add the grilled peppers and onions,
half a cup of broth.
You can use vegetarian broth,
beef broth, chicken broth,
whatever you have on hand.
And then a dash of red chili pepper flakes
just to give it a nice, spicy kick,
and just give it a whirl
until everything is smooth.
(light music)
Mm, it smells so good.
Quick quality control.
Mm, that's perfect.
I think our pasta water is also ready.
So I'm just gonna go ahead
and cook up my favorite pasta,
which is this rigatoni right here.
So while the pasta is cooking,
we'll finish off the sauce.
So in my pan, I'm gonna drizzle some olive oil
and then to add some extra veggies,
I always have frozen veggies on hand,
and it's a great hack
if you wanna add some extra nutrients
to your pasta.
Alternatively, if you wanted some extra protein,
you can always add grilled chicken,
Italian sausage.
I would just cook it off right now
before pouring the sauce in.
I'll let it come to a simmer
and then we'll add two tablespoons of cream cheese
to make it extra cheesy and velvety.
Once the pasta's done,
go ahead and drain it,
and then put the hot pasta into the pan,
along with a few tablespoons of pasta water
if you need to thin the sauce out.
I'm gonna sprinkle in a handful of Parmesan cheese.
Now we're just gonna let it simmer
and kind of meld all the flavors together.
Now would be a really great time to season it
with some salt and pepper.
(light music)
For a pop of color on our roasted red pepper pasta,
I like adding thinly sliced basil
and some Parmesan cheese right on top.
This is such a simple sauce
that really packs a punch.
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This pesto veggie pasta is a mix
of fragrant basil and nutrient-dense kale,
so you can feel extra good eating it.
The pesto sauce is nutty, fresh,
and tastes a lot like the regular pesto
that you're used to.
To make the sauce,
we just need a few simple ingredients here
and it all goes into the blender.
I have one cup of baby kale here
that we're gonna start off with.
These tender leaves are a lot less bitter
than the dino or the curly kale
that you're used to cooking with.
So I think it melts really well with the basil.
To which I add two cups of very packed basil,
then half a cup of Parmesan cheese,
two cloves of garlic,
a 1/4 cup of walnuts.
You can use pine nuts, almonds, pistachio even.
I just find that walnuts,
right now, you get the most bang for your buck.
1/2 a teaspoon of salt,
the zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon,
and 1/2 a cup of olive oil.
Now, just blend it up until it's nice and smooth
but a little grainy still.
(light music)
Let's give it a quick taste to see
if we need to make any adjustments.
Mm, that's perfect.
Now to make our pesto pasta,
in a shallow pan,
I'm gonna pour in our pesto
and then we'll just warm it up slightly.
Then pour in a little bit of cream.
We made a lot of pesto
and you don't have to use it all at once
if you don't want to.
This'll store beautifully in an airtight jar
in the fridge for about a week.
I personally love creamy pesto,
but if you're a purist
and just want pesto with your pasta,
go ahead and leave this last step out.
For our pasta,
I've already cooked some fusilli,
which is a corkscrew pasta,
and I just love that it holds the sauce
in all those nooks really well.
But use whatever shape you like best.
Penne and spaghetti is also great with pesto.
I'll just pour our pasta into the sauce.
Give it a good mix.
And again, if you want the sauce
to grip and get loose,
pour in a little bit of pasta water.
The pasta water is starchy
so it helps everything stick.
To serve it, I just add it to my bowl
and then we'll garnish it with some Parmesan cheese,
chili flakes, and a little sprig of basil.
Before we taste this pesto veggie pasta,
be sure to check out my three other veggie pasta ideas
and give this video a like
and subscribe to my channel
if you wanna see more pasta recipes.
Mm.
Pesto is the besto.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you guys next time.
Bye!