Healthy Pasta Recipes

Every cook needs a collection of easy healthy pasta recipes - you can never have too many ideas.

These homemade pasta recipes are all low fat, simple and very delicious. The pasta sauces are packed with flavour, and satisfy the appetite while avoiding richer ingredients like butter and cream.

You'll find one shrimp pasta recipe, a penne pasta recipe that majors on mushrooms, and a third with an unusual and very nutritious sauce made from raw tomato - one to savour when tomatoes are at the peak of their season. Enjoy these authentic recipes from an Italian kitchen.

HEALTHY PASTA RECIPES: SHRIMP AND SPINACH

Serves 4
Time 20 minutes

225g (8 oz) uncooked penne or other medium pasta shape
200ml (1 cup) plain, fat free yogurt
120g (1/2 cup) feta cheese, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
350g (12 oz) frozen shrimp (shrimps or prawns), thawed
250g (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
salt to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water until just tender. While it is cooking, mix the yogurt, feta, garlic, dill and pepper in a large bowl.

Two minutes before the pasta is cooked, stir the shrimp (prawns) and spinach into the pan with the pasta. Cook for two minutes.

Drain well, and stir the pasta, spinach and shrimp into the yogurt mixture. Season to taste and serve at once.

HEALTHY PASTA RECIPES: ITALIAN MUSHROOM SAUCE

Serves 4
Time 30 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil
225g (8 oz) button mushrooms, sliced
170g (6 oz) Italian brown mushrooms, sliced
100g (4 oz) oyster or shitake mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
400g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes can stewed tomatoes
400g (14 oz) can tomato puree
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) chopped fresh basil
2 tsp dried oregano
350g (12 oz) penne

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the canned tomatoes, tomato puree, 50ml (1/4 cup) water, oregano, pepper, and salt.

Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the fresh basil and remove from the heat.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, slowly boiling water until al dente. Drain well and place in a warmed serving dish. Pour over the sauce.

HEALTHY PASTA RECIPES: UNCOOKED TOMATO SAUCE

Choose the very best tomatoes you can find for this recipe, which the Italians call salsa cruda di pomodoro.

Serves 4
Time 10 minutes

350g dried conchiglie (pasta shells)
4 or 5 large fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped
175g (1 cup) canned chickpeas
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) chopped fresh basil
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
l tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
25g (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Drain the juice from the chopped tomatoes in a colander.

Place the tomatoes in a large serving bowl and mix with the remaining ingredients except the pasta and cheese. Leave at room temperature until the pasta is ready.

Cook the pasta in boiling water for 9-11 minutes, or until "al dente". Drain thoroughly, shaking.

Fold the shells through the tomato sauce and serve at once, with Parmesan cheese if you wish.

This page was contributed by Magaly, a great cook, a big pasta fan, and creator of the pasta-packed website, Pasta Recipes Online, where you can find more authentic pasta recipes.

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