Spicy Vegetable Pasta

Pasta is a great way to have a combination of a nutritious and delicious food.  I enjoy making olive oil based sauces and just adding lots of vegetables and spices.  The pasta that I made for lunch today was simple but really tasty.  I always use brown rice pasta when I cook at home.  White pasta raises blood sugar levels and is also stripped of fibre and other nutrients.  I even find that whole wheat pasta can cause digestive problems such as bloating and indigestion.

You can add any vegetables you want to your pasta.  It’s also a good idea to “hide” some of the leafy green vegetables in your pasta as well.  Some of these vegetables include Swiss chard, kale, collards, spinach and mustard greens.  If you saute them ahead of time, they break down and mix well into the pasta.  It’s good to cook these green leafy vegetables, or at least lightly steam them.  They contain oxalates which can bind to minerals and prevent nutrient absorption.  Once you cook them, the oxalates are reduced significantly.

It’s nice to start any pasta with garlic, shallots and onions.  Let them cook for a while and this will release their sweetness.  If you have vegetables that are firm and take longer to cook, start with those.  I usually add the softer vegetables in at the end.  Spinach doesn’t take long to cook at all and can be added a few minutes before serving.

Feel free to choose your own vegetables for your pasta.  Bell peppers, courgettes (zucchini), red onion, spinach, pine nuts, aubergine (eggplant), cherry tomatoes and spring onions are all good choices.  I didn’t have too many ingredients in my kitchen today so I made it a simple one.

Spicy Vegetable Pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 cup collards, chopped
1 tbsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup feta cheese (I used goat feta)
Sea salt and cracked pepper
1-2 cups cooked brown rice pasta (depending on the ratio desired)

Cook the garlic and shallot in olive oil for a few minutes, stirring to prevent burning.  Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the broccoli and collards and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes.  Add in the pasta at this point and mix everything together.  Next add the herbs, salt and pepper, and let the pasta cook a little longer.  Top with chili flakes and feta.  Enjoy!