Tuscan Pasta Toss
With just a few ingredients and a delicious spice mix, you can make a quick and tasty weeknight #meatfree meal. Tuscan Pasta Toss is delicious, hearty, healthy and can be easily whipped up for a delicious main or scrumptious lunch.
Sometimes our #MeatlessMondays are just pasta and sauce. I honestly try not to do something so cliché, but it’s really NOT easy to think of something deliciously creative for the carnivore in the house. Not that I’m NOT a carnivore, but he honestly turned his nose up at the idea of a meatless meal one night a week and was concerned it wouldn’t be filling.
Considering we’ve been doing this #MeatlessMonday thing for about a year now, I think I’ve proven, for the most part, that we can skip the meat one night a week and still have a good, hearty, FILLING meal. But, honestly, it is difficult to think of something different. I’ve had some winners and some seriously tankers. But, all in all, I’ve enjoyed creating a meatfree recipe one night a week.
And now that I have a year of these meals under my belt, it’s time to step it up. I’m going to try more ingredients like seitan and maybe some tofu. Introduce more flavors in our meals and try not to rely on quiches and pastas. Yes, I know, this is a pasta recipe. Not that I won’t make pasta recipes, but they will, hopefully, have unique and interesting flavors and ingredients.
This one isn’t a typical pasta dish. It’s a Tuscan take on primavera pasta with ingredients like marinated artichoke hearts and zucchini and fill of flavors like basil, oregano, red pepper flake, and fennel.
Tuscan Spice Mix has just a few ingredients that differentiate it from other Italian spice blends. For the most part, it’s the kick from either cayenne pepper, or in this case, crushed red pepper flakes. And it does make a difference! It’s not HOT HOT, but there’s a decided kick to this dish that you’re going to love!
TRUST ME!
This actually leads me to the recipe we’re eating for dinner today, which a recreate from one fabulous meal we had in Niagara for our anniversary dinner in October. Yes, I owe you that post, too!! It’s on the way. Seriously! It is! Have patience.
But this. This dish right here? This one is full of flavor, vegetables, and yummy herbs and spices. I mean, just LOOK at it!! How could not want to dive him and devour this one? Grab a fork!
Tuscan Pasta Toss
With just a few ingredients and a delicious spice mix, you can make a quick and tasty weeknight #meatfree meal.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup julienned, sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup boiling water
- 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup diced red pepper
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Tuscan Spice Mix
- 1 cup quartered artichoke hearts, drained
- 3.5 ounces crumbled, fat free feta cheese
Instructions
- Reconstitute the sun-dried tomatoes by soaking in the boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes or until soft enough to roughly chop. Set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.
- Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté 1 minute before adding the zucchini and red bell pepper. Cook the vegetables until they begin to soften.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, the sun-dried tomatoes with juice, and artichoke hearts; stir to combine. Sprinkle with the Tuscan Spice Mix and simmer until reduced by half.
- Add the pasta and the feta cheese. Toss well to coat. Serve with some nice crusty bread to soak up the juices.
