Welcome to another mouthwatering episode! In this video, we're whipping up a quick and satisfying 30-minute family-size veggie-packed pasta dinner that will have everyone at the table begging for more. Join me as we combine the freshness of vibrant vegetables with the comforting goodness of pasta, creating a dish that's nutritious, delicious, and perfect for busy weeknights.
Get ready to dive into a flavorful medley of linguini (or your pasta of choice), diced onions, fragrant garlic, tender broccoli florets, crisp lettuce, snipped green beans, juicy cherry tomatoes, cracked black pepper, zesty lemon zest, aromatic fresh dill, a bunch of parsley, sweet peas, and a touch of olive oil. But wait, there's more! We'll be adding a secret ingredient that takes this dish to new heights-nutritional yeast, or as we affectionately call it, "nooch" or even better "Hippy Fish Food". :)
Recipe: 30-Minute Family Size Veggie-Packed Pasta Dinner
Ingredients:
1 package of dry linguini, spaghetti, or other pasta
2 medium onions, diced
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1 head of broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets and stalk
2 heads of baby gem lettuce or 1 large romaine lettuce, chopped
1 300g package of fine green beans, snipped
12 cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper, fresh
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1 300g bunch of parsley, chopped
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (nooch), or more according to preference
Instructions:
Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
While the water is heating up, prepare the vegetables. Chop the onions, garlic, broccoli, lettuce, and parsley. Snip the green beans, and halve the cherry tomatoes (or leave whole).
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
About halfway through the pasta cooking time, add the green beans to the boiling water. Bring it back to a boil and then add the broccoli. Cook until the pasta is done. Make sure to reserve some of the pasta water before straining.
While the pasta and vegetables are cooking, heat a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, diced onions, and chopped garlic. Sauté for a couple of minutes until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Add about 3-4 ladles of pasta water to the pot along with ½ cup of nooch and stir together and turn off the heat.
Lastly, add the peas to the mixture. The residual heat will cook the peas just enough to retain their vibrant color and crunch.
Now, it's time to assemble the dish, combine the cooked pasta, green beans, broccoli, sautéed onions and garlic, chopped lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cracked black pepper, lemon zest, fresh dill, and chopped parsley.
Toss everything together to coat evenly. Season with salt and ground pepper to taste.
For an extra burst of flavor, sprinkle in the nutritional yeast (nooch) and give it a good mix.
If the dish seems a bit dry, add some of the reserved pasta water to moisten it and create a light sauce.
Serve the veggie-packed pasta dinner hot and enjoy!
This recipe combines the freshness of vegetables with the comforting goodness of pasta, all in just 30 minutes. It's a perfect meal for a busy weeknight when you want something quick, nutritious, and absolutely delicious. Bon appétit!