January 2009 Posts
Easy hummus noodle dish
To conclude our month-o-pasta dishes, here is the easiest and fastest dinner of them all. Your biggest time investment will be chopping a few veggies. Another bonus, you'll likely have all these ingredients on hand, possibly moving this into your "dinners in a pinch" category.
There's really nothing tricky to this recipe. I would have the sauce made and veggies chopped before you start cooking the pasta since Angel Hair seems to only need three to five minutes on the stove. You may want to reserve a little of the pasta water to add to the hummus sauce. Mine was fine without, but other types or brands of hummus may be a little pasty. All in all, dinner prepped, cooked and on the table in less than 20 minutes!
Ingredients:
1 lb. Angel Hair pasta
3/4 C. hummus
1/4 C. broth (chicken or veggie), warmed
2 1/2 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 C. snap peas, cut in half
unsalted peanuts
sesame seeds
crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
Wisk together hummus, warmed broth and soy sauce. Chop veggies. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and immediately mix in sauce. Distribute in individual bowls/plates; add veggies on top, then garnish with desired amount of peanuts, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.
Spinach linguine with tomatoes and chopped almonds
Next up in our January series of making exciting, easy and budget-friendly dinners is my all-time favorite pasta dish.
The recipe calls for all fresh ingredients, and I'm just sure that's the secret to this really good dinner.
As with our baked ziti dinner, make the sauce ahead of time for an even quicker meal. Either way, just be sure to have the sauce ready to go right when the linguine is done cooking. Drain it and immediately toss noodles with the sauce (which is not heated on its own) so the heat can transfer as you toss. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
10-12 ounces linguine
1/2 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
1/2 C. fresh basil
1/2 C. unsalted almonds, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 C. Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 C. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 C. cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions:
In a food processor, combine spinach and basil. Add about half the almonds and all of the garlic, cheese, broth, olive oil, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Meanwhile, prepare linguine according to package directions. Reserve a little of the cooking water; toss sauce with noodles and add water if too thick (sauce should thoroughly coat noodles). Top each individual serving with tomatoes and remaining chopped almonds.
