Healthy, Hearty, Italian Spaghetti with Spinach, Bread Crumbs, and Roasted Garlic

Many meatless pasta recipes beckon you, but most disappoint. This one will satisfy your hunger, keep your blood sugar low, and generally promote good health. Nutritious, high in fiber, featuring spinach, garlic, cheese, whole wheat pasta and bread crumbs, a rare dish which is simultaneously healthy and delicious.

The spinach is easy. Use a bag of frozen cut leaf spinach from your grocery store. No work, ready to go.

The pasta, likewise, is no effort – just purchase the whole wheat variety.

Now the bread crumbs are a different story. If you purchase prepared bread crumbs, they will not be high fiber. But as an accent to this dish, the overall effect will still be good. However if you’ve got a few minutes, it’s very easy to make fresh, high fiber bread crumbs at home.

In the end, no matter your choices, this is a wonderful Italian dish promoting great nutrition and is, by the way, very tasty!

Bread Crumbs

Of course you can buy prepared bread crumbs, even seasoned with Italian herbs, but you will find them disappointing. Instead, try this.

2 slices of multi-grain bread

Heat oven to 300F. Place bread slices on a cookie tray in the oven and allow to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a food processor. Blend until reduced to crumbs. You are done – high fiber, fresh bread crumbs.

 Pasta dish

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, in halves

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and diced

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

Dash of Italian seasoning

1 lb. cut leaf spinach

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

Salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Start a large pot of water to boil. Add salt.

Meanwhile, warm half of the olive oil (1/4 cup) in a large, deep skillet and cook the garlic till slightly browned. Add  bread crumbs, pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Cook until bread crumbs begin to brown. Remove to a separate bowl.

Add remaining olive oil to the skillet (1/4 cup) and cook spinach until wilted. Stir in bread crumb/garlic mixture from the reserved bowl, mix well and continue to reduce.

As soon as the pasta water boils, add pasta and cook till al dente, 6-7 minutes. Capture a half cup of the pasta water, then drain in a colander. Place pasta in the skillet, combine well with spinach mixture and a bit of the pasta water. Warm up the burner and cook till well combined. Test and adjust seasonings as desired.

Serve hot, topped with freshly grated Parmesan.

Buon appetito!

Hearty Mushroom Orzotto

A dear friend recently asked if I had ever made orzotto. Not only had I not, I had never heard of it. She supplied me with a link to a Mario Batali recipe for same – looked interesting. So we prepared it one night, with liberties as usual. I hereby testify that it is a wonderfully delicious, nutritious, healthy, satisfying, rib-sticking, and forgiving recipe. I can only say “Thank you Suzanne!"

Orzotto is an Italian dish similar to risotto but made with pearled barley rather than rice. The word is a mash-up of orzo (barley) and risotto. Orzotto comes from the mountains northeast of Venice, the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.

To those concerned with health (and who isn’t), the glycemic index of pearled barley (25) is much lower than short-grain rice (69) typically used in risotto.  According to Harvard Health:

Glycemic index and glycemic load offer information about how foods affect blood sugar and insulin. The lower a food’s glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels. Foods with a high glycemic index, like white bread, are rapidly digested and cause substantial fluctuations in blood sugar. Foods with a low glycemic index, like whole oats, are digested more slowly, prompting a more gradual rise in blood sugar.

High glycemic index foods (e.g., french fries, candy bars, baked potatoes) contribute to obesity and type 2 diabetes. So we like the health effects of orzotto much better than risotto.

So here is my Mushroom Orzotto with apologies to Mr. Batali.

Ingredients:

1 cup pearled barley

1 quart low sodium, low fat chicken broth

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

½  teaspoon fresh minced thyme (or ¼ tsp dry will suffice)

1 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced ¼” thick

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon butter (or substitute additional olive oil)

¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Method:

1. Cook the pearled barley in a pan of salted, boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile heat the chicken broth in the microwave or another saucepan. Keep warm.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the thyme, mushrooms, and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until mushrooms are softened. (Note – I covered the pan for a few moments to accelerate the process, but then uncovered to evaporate the accumulated moisture).
4. Add the barley and stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 cup of warm broth and stir until most of the stock is absorbed. Continue this process until all of the broth is incorporated. The result in about 25 minutes should be a creamy sauce.
5. Add the butter and cheese and blend into mixture. (We don't use butter so added another tablespoon of olive oil instead).

Test seasoning and serve. Buon appetito!  

Note on mushrooms.

Mario’s recipe used shitake. I used portobello. You could use porcini. This is a fun and forgiving recipe to play with. The only word of advice is that the mushrooms be well cleaned so the orzotto is not gritty.

Hearty Kale and Black Bean Stew

This has quickly become our go-to comfort food when we need a hearty, filling, yet healthy meal that can be easily prepared in a single pot in less than 30 minutes. What's not to like?

One website proclaims black beans to be the "world's healthiest food." While this may be a bit hyperbolic, an analysis of the nutritional content of black beans shows an excellent profile of high fiber and protein, low fat, and a good source of thiamin, magnesium, and folate. Perhaps not the world's healthiest food, but certainly approaching perfection.

While there are many who would take the trouble to soak dried black beans overnight, we elect to use canned, drained beans for convenience.

Then there is the kale. In addition to a long list of necessary nutrients, antioxidants, and minerals, kale is also a great source of dietary fiber and vitamins A, C, and K. And of course, properly prepared, it tastes great.

It is not difficult to wash and chop fresh kale, but if you are fortunate, your local supermarket will offer 1 lb. bags of frozen chopped kale. This greatly accelerates the preparation of this dish.

We start the stew with a soffritto (base) of olive oil, onions, sweet red pepper, and garlic, in typical Italian fashion. But then the choice of spices is completely personal. We enjoy hot red pepper flakes and curry powder, but you can use any spices you like.

In any case, this meal is quite quick to prepare, delicious and nutritious to eat, and freezes well for future enjoyment. I hope you appreciate it as much as we do.

Ingredients

4-5 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1 medium sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled, and chopped
1 28 oz. or 2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained
1 lb. chopped kale (fresh or frozen)
6 cups water
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Method

In a large soup pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in curry powder and red pepper flakes, mix well and cook a minute to blend flavors.

Add red peppers and onions, saute until softened and cooked down, 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cook another minute.

Add kale, stir all ingredients well, cover, and cook until kale stems are softened. Uncover and continue to cook kale until it is reduced (some moisture expelled).

Add black beans, stir well, and heat through.

Add water, stir well to mix, and cook until flavors are blended. Cook uncovered to thicken if desried.

Serve with grated parmigiano reggiano cheese as a topping, and a good Chianti wine.

Buon appetito!

Broccoli rabe and cannellini bean soup

Broccoli rabe, known in Italy as Cima di Rapa (top of the turnip), is a green cruciferous vegetable known for its slightly bitter taste and enormous health benefits. This is a quick, simple soup, very satisfying particularly in winter.

According to Martha Stewart, broccoli rabe is “a rich source of glucosinolates, which your body converts to cancer-fighting sulforophanes and indoles.” Stewart adds, “a 3 1/2-ounce serving of broccoli rabe provides more than half your daily requirement of antioxidant-rich vitamins A and C.” Hard to beat – tasty and healthy to boot!

A bit of an acquired taste, most people love the flavor of rabe. In this soup, the rabe is combined with cannellini beans to make a hearty, healthy meal.

Starting with a soffritto (base) of sautéed sweet red pepper, onion, and garlic, we will make a hearty soup that serves as a complete meal. Although water based, simmering the beans will create a satisfying broth. Buon appettito!

Ingredients

4 TBS extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp. hot red pepper flakes

¼ tsp. ground turmeric

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium sweet red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 bunch broccoli rabe (1 – 1 ½ lbs), washed and chopped into 1” segments

2 15 oz or 1 28 oz can cannellini beans, drained

3 cups water

Salt to taste

Freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese as topping to serve

Method

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the hot red pepper flakes, turmeric, black pepper, stir well.

Add the chopped red peppers and onion, sauté until reduced – 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic, stir well.

Add chopped broccoli rabe to pan and cover. Cook down, stirring occasionally until rabe begins to soften.

Add cannellini beans and water, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or more until broth thickens. Add salt to taste, but the salt in the canned beans is typically enough.

Serve topped with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, fresh slices of Italian bread, and a green salad.  A complete meal!