Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Spaghetti with Beans & Greens



As I've mentioned before, we eat a lot of beans around here, mostly because they are easy to prepare and inexpensive. The fact that they are tasty and nutritious is just a bonus because I'm pretty sure I would still sneak them into meals for the cheap and easy reasons.

Here is a delicious, light spaghetti recipe that is as easy on the wallet as it is your waistline. I always rinse and drain canned beans to remove any excess sodium but you can usually find sodium-free canned beans as well.

Spaghetti with Beans and Greens

Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti (I use whole wheat)
3/4 kosher salt, divided
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 (16-ounce) cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
5 ounces arugula leaves
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 or 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions and drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, tossing gently, set aside and keep warm

Return pan to medium heat and add oil, garlic and pepper; cook 2 minutes until garlic is slightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, tomatoes and beans and cook 2 minutes. Add pasta and cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add reserved pasta water and arugula, tossing gently to combine.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and cheese. Serve immediately.

Make yummy noises. Enjoy.


(Just 290 calories and 4 grams of heart-healthy fiber in a 1.5 cup serving)

4 comments:

  1. alright, this might be my favorite recipe yet. You know Lexi and I could live on pasta alone, and this is a healthy version of a favorite. AND I can get fresh, organic tomatoes and arugala at our farmer's market.

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  2. This looks great. While I love arugula, we got a lot of spinach in our CSA this week, so I may substitute that for the arugula.

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  3. yum yum yum!

    are you going to be sending us FAL recipe cards?

    i'm trying to cut and paste them on paper for printing in the future, and i think my page count is super high!

    keep 'em coming, please!

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  4. Allison- spinach would work fine here too; it just won't have the same kind of "bite" that arugula has.

    Chimmy - do I need to print a FAL cookbook ? :-)

    Kel- Rob won't miss the meat ... Eric really liked this one!

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