Recipe: Spaghetti and Beans
Posted on | July 2, 2009 | 7 Comments
i have to admit that prior to discovering several food intolerances that included the beloved tomato, our idea of pasta was [and only was] spaghetti or penne with a spicy tomato sauce with peppers and onions. and we loved it. every tomatoey-peppery-oniony morsel of it.all of that changed about 5 months ago when i was told to stay the h-e-double-hockey-sticks away from them. and my entire understanding of pasta sort of fell flat on it’s proverbial face.
of course i was bummed at first. but then, it was like this whole world of possibilities opened itself up to me: you mean you can put beans and spinach on pasta and it will actually taste good?!
might not sound so earth shattering to you, but i can honestly say that it was a lightbulb moment for me. and the more we tried different variations in pasta, the more we got excited about it.
so why am i telling you all of this? because it was a huge success to actually throw caution to the wind and just put random ingredients into our pasta. and not one single one revolved around a tomato or pepper.
consider this more of a suggestion than a recipe. because, we really didn’t follow one. and just threw it all in hoping it would taste good. and, of course, it did.
Spaghetti and Beans
ingredients:
- 1 15-oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cloves garlic
- large handful of baby spinach (the more the merrier)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- olive oil
- pasta of your choice, cooked [we used whole wheat spaghetti]
directions:
- heat olive oil in large skillet. add onions and garlic and cook until translucent; about 5 minutes.
- add navy beans and spinach and cook until spinach wilts and turns bright green; about 3-5 minutes.
- add to cooked pasta and toss to coat with olive oil.
- eat and enjoy!
this recipe is vegetarian, vegan, nightshade free, dairy free, casein free, cinnamon free, soy free, egg free, treenut and peanut free, and contains no msg. it could also be gluten and wheat free depending on your pasta choices.
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7 Responses to “Recipe: Spaghetti and Beans”
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July 2nd, 2009 @ 4:48 pm
That looks delicious! I have been experimenting with different ways to make pasta and I fully agree with you, we don’t need tomato!
July 2nd, 2009 @ 5:42 pm
Mmmm…that pasta looks and sounds delicious! I think it’s great that you took a negative (tomato intolerance) and turned it into a positive by experimenting with more unusual ingredients in your pasta. It’s that sort of ingenuity that makes eating a plant-based diet so enjoyable and varied.
–Susan
July 10th, 2009 @ 10:57 am
I made something like this recently because I had to throw dinner together FAST, and I haven’t been grocery shopping since we got back from vacation. I had to use whatever I had in my pantry. So, I used canned diced tomatoes (sorry!), chick peas, and basil, over whole wheat penne — and my girls ate it like it was mac’n'cheese. I’ll definitely do that one again.
I like this recipe. I’m not sure the girls (or my DH for that matter) would go for the spinach, but I’ll give it a spin. More for me!
ciao,
rpm
July 20th, 2009 @ 8:33 am
I love pasta and bean recipes. The idea sometimes sounds sort of college-dormy, but there are tons of (delicious) traditional Italian recipes that incorporate both.
August 3rd, 2009 @ 8:44 pm
[...] much to say. we haven’t tried many new recipes. have been eating the old standards [aka spaghetti and beans, stirfry, marinated tempeh [...]
August 21st, 2009 @ 8:51 am
Just wanted to say how delicious this pasta was last night. I am so excited to try it on my own!
January 23rd, 2010 @ 7:31 am
Thanks for this recipe, I am a celiac who has an intolrance to nightshade and also just starting with the vegetarian diet, will give this a go