Low Fat Pasta Recipes – Macaroni with Broccoli and Cauliflower

The macaroni with broccoli and cauliflower is an excellent low fat pasta recipe that is packed with protein and fiber. It contains low calorie which stands at only 422kcal and there is absolutely no cholesterol. This highly nutritious low fat dish has only 9.4g of fat of which 1.1g is saturated fat. It’s filled with fiber and is packed with calcium. It’s a must eat low fat pasta for someone who is looking for a quick and nutritious lunch or dinner but without the fat.

Macaroni with Broccoli and Cauliflower

This low fat pasta recipe is a super delicious dish that originates from south of Italy and is considered a traditional dish that uses simple and high quality ingredients. This easily prepared low fat pasta is full of flavor and is very filling despite having low fat content. If you leave out the anchovies, it can even be served to vegetarians. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 175g/6oz cauliflower florets, cut into small sprigs
• 175g/6oz broccoli florets, cut into small sprigs
• 350g/12oz/3 cups short-cut macaroni
• 45ml/3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 45ml/3tbsp pine nuts
• 1 sachet of saffron powder, dissolved in 15ml/1tbsp warm water
• 15-30ml/1-2tbsp raisins, to taste
• 30ml/2tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
• 4 bottles or canned anchovies in olive oil, drained and chopped, plus extra anchovies to serve
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Freshly grated Pecorino cheese, to serve

Step by Step Guides:
1. In a large pan or pot, cook the cauliflower sprigs with about 2 to 3 liters of water. Turn to high heat until water boils. Put in some salt and add the cauliflower only when the water starts to boil. Leave the cauliflower for about 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Next add the broccoli to the pan or pot that contains the salted boiling water. Together with the cauliflower, cook the broccoli for roughly 2 minutes.

3. The vegetable mixture should be tender by now and you will need to remove them from the pan and set them aside in a separate plate.

4. Reuse the vegetable cooking water in the pan or pot for cooking the macaroni. Add more water if there is not enough to cook the pasta. Bring the water to boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instruction until al dente or cooked just enough to retain a somewhat firm texture for the macaroni. When the pasta is done, drain them and set it aside or you can go ahead to do the following steps while waiting for the pasta to be cooked.

5. In a separate pan or large skillet, add in the olive oil. After that, add the finely chopped onion. Turn to medium or low heat for the onion. Brown the onion for 2 to 3 minutes.

6. In the same pan or skillet that has the brown onion, add the pine nuts, broccoli, cauliflower, saffron water, raisins, sun-dried tomato paste and some pasta cooking water from another pot until the mixture has the texture of a sauce. Finally, add plenty of pepper.

7. Stir the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes until you are satisfied with the texture. If not, add in more water. When it’s done, add the chopped anchovies to the sauce. Toss the anchovies for about 1 minute until they are warmed evenly. Don’t overcook the anchovies since they are already cooked.

8. Put the drained pasta into the vegetable mixture. Toss the pasta together with the sauce until they are evenly mixed. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add the freshly grated Pecorino cheese to the pasta.

9. This macaroni with broccoli and cauliflower low fat pasta recipe serves 4 people. If you like, add one or two whole anchovies to each serving.

Nutritional information per portion: Energy 422kcal/1784kj; Protein 15.4g; Carbohydrate 73.5g, of which 8.4g is sugar; Fat 9.4g of which 1.1g is saturated fat; Cholesterol 0mg; Calcium 64mg; Fiber 5.2g; Sodium 38mg.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 20th, 2010 at 9:20 pm and is filed under Low Fat Macaroni Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.