Pasta Dishes - Healthy or Otherwise!?!

Pasta Dishes - Healthy or Otherwise!?

I love pasta and eat it all the time. I'm trying to stick to my healthy eating but sometimes you just have to have something really unhealthily tasty! Any ideas for any pasta dishes - healthy or not!

Pasta is healthy, however its what you add to it that makes it unhealthy such as a creamy sauce or cheese etc.

However try the following

Perfect pasta
200g/7oz pasta shapes
175g/6oz broccoli
2 chicken breasts, cooked
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
150g/5oz sweetcorn
2 spring onions

Method
1. Cook the pasta shapes according to the packet instructions. Add the broccoli for the last three minutes.
2. Shred the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. Remove any bits of skin.
3. Carefully slice the spring onions.
4. Make a dressing by mixing together the honey, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil.
5. Mix together the pasta, broccoli, chicken, spring onions, sweetcorn and the dressing.
6. Your pasta salad is now ready to eat

or Roasted vegetable pasta
2 courgettes, cut into sticks
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, sliced finely
3 tbsp olive oil
300g/10oz pasta shells
200ml/7fl oz tub half-fat crème fra?che
2tsp wholegrain mustard
85g/3oz cheddar, grated

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Put the courgettes and red pepper in a roasting tin and sprinkle over the sliced garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, then season and toss to make sure all the vegetables are coated with oil.
3. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the vegtables are tender and beginning to brown.
4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 10-12 minutes until just cooked. Drain and stir in the roasted vegetables with the crème fra?che, mustard and grated cheddar

or Spicy sausage pasta

400g/14?oz fresh tagliatelle
8 tbsp Italian olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
4 Italian sausages, chopped
2 handfuls chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 medium red chilli
1 handful pine nuts
100g/3?oz pecorino cheese, freshly grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
1. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.
2. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and shallow fry the onion and sausage until golden.
3. Add the mushrooms, chilli and the pine kernels, season with salt and pepper and cook for approximately three minutes.
4. Drain the pasta, add to the sauce and mix well.
5. Serve immediately with some freshly grated pecorino on top

or Basic tomato and basil sauce for pasta

This is a perfect sauce to use as a base. You can add a variety of other flavours to the finished sauce, just cooking for a few minutes to create a completely different dish.
Ingredients
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
?-? tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 large handful basil leaves, torn into small pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Method
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onion and garlic until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, chilli flakes, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook slowly for 45 minutes-1 hour. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. This can be left chunky or blended in a food processor for a smooth sauce.
2. Serve spooned over cooked pasta with plenty of parmesan cheese.

Alternatives:
250g/9oz tub of mascarpone or cream cheese, either alone or with strips of smoked salmon
chopped black olives and marinated artichokes
fried bacon and mushrooms
prawns, capers and chopped parsley
chopped chicken, red onion and red peppers, fried in olive oil
fried slices of chorizo sausage, chopped black olives and pieces of mozzarella cheese.

or Creamy pasta with salmon
? red onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
75g/2?oz fresh salmon, cubed
125ml double cream
150g/5?oz penne pasta, cooked according to packet instructions
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method
1. Heat a pan and add the oil, garlic and red onion. Sauté for three minutes, until the onion has softened.
2. Add the salmon cubes and double cream and continue to cook for five minutes, or until the salmon has cooked through.
3. Add the pasta and warm through.
4. Add the parsley, stir and pour into a bowl to serve