Easy Delicious Garlic Pasta With Veggies

Submitted by chefdownunda

"This recipe and variations of it are basically a food group in our house. It's just so versatile and easy (and healthy too) -- you can basically use whatever vegetables you like or have on hand. The saltiness combined with the savouriness of the parmesan cheese just make it so addictive. Half the time I make this, I add the diced tomatoes, and the other half I leave them out -- the original version of this recipe just uses the olive oil and garlic, but the tomatoes are also really nice (depends if you want a pure oil-based sauce or more a very thin marinara sauce - both are great). I use lots of garlic, as it's hard to have too much, but you can adjust to your taste. Also, adjust the oil to your preferred level - I love olive oil, but I can understand people on a diet may want to watch it. You can really use any noodles you like. I started off with spaghetti, but have since used linguine, fettucini, or even short pasta like rigatoni - all of which work very well!"

 

• Ready In: 28mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 (500 g) package noodles
• 1 head garlic, minced
• 3 onions, chopped into course pieces
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 (400 g) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen peas, broccoli, and green bean mix (fresh, of course, also works)
• fresh spinach, to taste
• 2 tablespoons dried basil (or to taste)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• parmesan cheese, to taste

directions

1. Prepare pasta according directions and drain when cooked.
2. If you are using diced tomatoes (which I highly recommend for extra flavor), drain the tomatoes of liquid and set aside. If you want the pasta to have a thinner sauce, keep the juice.
3. Meanwhile, pour enough olive oil to coat the pasta and whichever vegetables you are using into large pot over high heat.
4. Add garlic and onions to pot.
5. Cook until garlic takes on a nice golden brown color.
6. If you are using diced tomatoes, add them to the mix.
7. Quickly add whichever vegetables you are using to pot (I use frozen vegetables just because it's easier and no one seems to notice). If you use all the suggested veggies in the recipe, add them in the order: frozen veggies, capsicum, spinach, spacing out when added so they're all cooked to your liking.
8. Cook veggies until heated throughout or tender-crisp.
9. At this point, taste the veggie mix and if desired, add basil, salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I leave out pepper and basil), and retaste.
10. Add the pasta and toss to coat.
11. Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top if desired.
12. Enjoy!