CREAMY & HEALTHY PASTA (sans butter, cream and cheese)

My d-i-l is an expert in making several varieties of pastas...I expressed my desire to eat a pasta, she made it into a very very healthy dish. I have never eaten such a good pasta, honestly, all these days...I mean...no butter, no cheese and no cream....but so tasty...Normally, alfredo sauce is heavily laden with butter, fresh cream and cheese.
She has also used nutritional yeast in this recipe, which , she told me, is a boon for Vegans and vegetarians. It is a great source of B Vitamins, minerals and is a complete protein by itself. It has a nutty flavor, so is perfect for pastas.

Ingredients

Whole wheat Fusilli pasta - 2 cups

Enough water to cook that

Cauliflower - 1, medium sized , chopped, stems also not discarded

Olive oil - 2 tsps

Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp

Bay leaf - 1

Leeks - 4 stalks

Garlic - 5 pods, chopped

Salt to taste

Nutritional yeast - 3 tbsps

Garlic powder - 2 tsps

Onion powder - 2 tsps

Thyme - 2 tsps

White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Cannellini /navy beans - 1 can, roughly 2 cups

Vegetable broth - 3 cups

Fresh lemon juice - 2 tbsps

Recipe Cuisine: International; Category: Lunch / Dinner

Prep time: 20 mts; Cooking time: 20 mts

Serves 6-8

Leeks nicely washed and kept ready for chopping

Heat a pan, with 2 tsps olive oil, add garlic, red chilli flakes, bay leaf and the chopped leeks

Add a pinch of salt and saute well on low flames

Add the chopped cauliflower, then the garlic and onion powders, white pepper powder, thyme and salt to taste

Add the vegetable broth, and allow to cook

Cover with a lid and let it cook

Put the cooked cauliflower in the blender jar, add the nutritional yeast and the lemon juice and blend to a smooth puree

In a pan, add the Cannellini beans

Now add the pureed cauliflower

and now, the cooked fusilli pasta

mix well, check salt and add to taste

The tasty and healthy, extremely creamy pasta, loaded with nutrition and protein is served with some simple sauteed spinach. Some red chilli flakes have been sprinkled on top. You can drizzle some hot chilli sauce too.

                                                             A warm pasta on a cold night!!!

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

Notes

* Any kind of pasta and any kind of beans can be used. 

* You can add some spinach too, by sauteeing it first, then adding the beans, the cauliflower puree and the pasta.

Categories: Family contributions, Healthy Cooking, International cuisine, Pastas