Super Healthy Pasta

I wasn’t intending on blogging this recipe, but as I started making it last night, it occurred to me: why not? I’ve never been one for pretentious, intricate meals, so why not blog about this quick, cheap, easy pasta meal? It’s the kind of thing I’d search for online when I need inspiration for a quick fix. So I thought I’d create my own search result!

I give you… my super healthy pasta.

The main items are pasta and tinned tomatoes. The other things can be improvised with the veg you already have at home (my freezer proved handy for this!) and use any herbs & spices you already have in your cupboard.

For this tasty dinner, I used (to make 4 portions):

• 2 x red onions, chopped
• 2 x cloves garlic, minced
• 2 x tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 x tsp chilli flakes
• 1 x tsp paprika
• 1 x tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 x tsp dried basil
• 300g dried pasta
• 2 x handfuls of frozen mixed peppers
• 2 x handfuls of frozen spinach

1. Fry the onions in some oil for a couple of minutes (you can just sweat them in a little water if you’d prefer to minimise calories).
2. Add the tinned tomatoes, as well as: chilli flakes, paprika, ground mixed spice, dried basil, fresh garlic, and plenty of salt & pepper. Let it simmer away for 10 minutes and get the pasta on (and shove the garlic bread in the oven!)
3. Add a couple of handfuls of frozen mixed peppers and simmer for a minute or two.
4. Take off the heat and add a couple of handfuls of frozen spinach. It’ll wilt very quickly!
5. Drain the pasta and mix through the sauce.

This is mega flavoursome. See? Eating healthily needn’t be disgusting and bland. You can grate some cheese over the top for an extra hit (a mature cheddar would be splendid), but if there are any Vegans out there, I *think* this might be the dish for you, sans cheese.

I’d like to enter this recipe into the Fasta Pasta! Joint event for Pasta Please and Speedy Suppers, organised by these talented ladies: Sarah at Maison Cupcake, Katie from Feeding Boys and Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for all the other quick pasta meals on display!

There’s some left over in the fridge for tonight’s dinner. I must say, I’m really looking forward to it, especially knowing it will only take a couple of minutes in the microwave! That’s my kind of midweek meal.

Enjoy 🙂 x