This basic meal strategy shows how to combine pasta, herbs/greens in oil, and a roasted bean. This can be varied and a fast healthy plant based meal. After trying this recipe I made another version using beet greens cooked with a shallot and lemon juice. Kale or cabbage would be good choices too.
The spaghetti recipe below is adapted from AcademiaBarilla.it. This is essentially the same recipe in terms of instructions, but the veggies are doubled and the protein is increased by adding roasted garbanzo beans.
Step 1: Veggie Spaghetti with Lime, Spinach & Jalapeño
Ingredients:
- 12oz Box Veggie Spaghetti
- 1-2 Jalapeños Sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1TBS Olive oil (for Spaghetti)
- 2 TBS Olive oil (for cooking)
- 8oz Spinach Leaves
Instructions:
- Boil water, add a pinch of salt. Cook spaghetti according to box instructions for 8 minutes (one minute less than stated.) Drain pasta spread on a sheet pan or plate to cool tossing with 1 TBS olive oil.
- Slice jalapeños into thin rings.
- Crush garlic and remove paper layer. Chop into big pieces
- Heat 2TBS olive oil in a skillet. Cook garlic and jalapeño about 1 minute.
- Add spinach leaves to the skillet and cook till wilted. The pan will be very full but the spinach will decrease in volume a lot when heated. Set aside the spinach to cool.
- Juice 2 limes. You don’t need a citrus juicer. Cut lime in half, using a fork squeeze the lime around the fork to extract the juice collecting it in a bowl, remove seeds before using.
- Combine the spaghetti, spinach mixture, and lime juice. Add salt as desired. Refrigerate for a while before serving.
Step 2: Roasted Chickpeas
This is one of my favorite foods, really! Follow this fast and flavorful recipe for a plant based protein boost.
Ingredients:
- 15oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
- 1 TBS oil (olive oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil etc. all work fine)
- salt & pepper
- Optional: any dried ground spice or spice blend you enjoy (corriander, ginger, garlic powder, red chile, curry powder, chili powder, cumin, tajin – any flavor you like)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Open can of chickpeas and drain liquid. Rinse if desired, drain well.
- Toss the chickpeas in a bowl with oil, salt, pepper, and any ground spice.
- Spread on a sheet pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Chickpeas should have some browned color, appear drier, a little crispy. If they don’t seem quite done, cook a few more minutes. If you cook more than one can of chickpeas or if they are very wet when you first put them in the oven it will take longer.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Texture will firm up a little.
