INGREDIENTS
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large shallots
4 garlic cloves, pressed
3 1/4 cups (800 mL) unsalted chicken stock
3/4 cup (175 mL) dry white wine such as Chardonnay
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) coarsely ground black pepper
6 oz (175 g) uncooked protein-enriched multigrain thin spaghetti noodles
2 medium zucchini
2 medium carrots, peeled
1 medium red bell pepper
1/2 cup (125 mL) loosely packed fresh basil leaves
3-4 oz (90 g) reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
3/4 oz (20 g) Parmesan cheese (see Cook’s Tip)
Directions:
1.Heat oil in Executive (12-in./30-cm) Skillet (do not use stainless cookware) over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Finely chop shallots with Food Chopper. Add shallots and pressed garlic to Skillet; cook 30-45 seconds or until fragrant. Add stock, wine, salt and black pepper; cook, covered, 3-4 minutes or until simmering. Add noodles; cook, covered, 7-8 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile,cut zucchini and carrots into julienne strips using Julienne Peeler. Thinly slice bell pepper and coarsely chop basil using Chef’s Knife. Add cream cheese to Skillet; stir until fully incorporated using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®;. Remove Skillet from heat. Add zucchini, carrots, bell pepper and basil; toss gently with Chef’s Tongs. Divide pasta among serving plates; garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese.Yield: 4 servings
METHOD
Add the garlic and shallot to some olive oil, heated in a skillet, and cook and stir until fragrant. Don’t walk away while the garlic and shallots heat up, if they burn you’ll have to start all over again! During this step, my daughter kept complaining that the shallots were burning her eyes. She finally asked me to take over for a minute so that she could take a break.
She returned with a solution: she was sporting her swim goggles. Isn’t she resourceful? This totally cracked me up!
Next we added a combination of chicken broth and a dry white wine (I went with Winking Owl Chardonnay, purchased at ALDI for $3.39/bottle). Cover the mixture and bring it to a simmer.
Then add in the pasta. Whole grain pasta is recommended, but I only had the regular “stuff” on hand, so we used that. Whole grain pasta would definitely be a way to make this healthy dish even healthier by adding more protein and dietary fiber. Cover the skillet and let the pasta cook for 7-9 minutes until tender.
While the pasta cooked, I grabbed my new julienne peeler.
It turned the zucchini and carrots into long, thin, uniform strips with ease and in just minutes. It was so fun to use and I was super impressed with the results.
Once the pasta is ready, stir in 3-4 oz. of reduced fat cream cheese until it melts.
Then turn off the heat and add the remainder of the veggies: the julienned zucchini and carrot, the sliced red pepper, and the chopped fresh basil. Toss with the pasta until combined. I re-covered the skillet and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the veggies to soften a bit before serving.
Dish it up and serve with parmesan cheese. YUM!
By Krista’s Kitchen.
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You can see the recipe here: cookingwithkrista.blogspot.com
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