Pasta L'estate

This dish sings with the bright summery flavours of dill and lemon, balanced with the briney saltiness of capers mellowed in a tangy wine sauce. Is that flowery enough for you? I can't help myself, this dish inspires poetic thoughts!

Regularly, I am not a big fan of white pasta. I wish I could get whole wheat tortellini, because sometimes nothing but tortellini will do! One day I will make a bunch myself and freeze them for future use. In the meantime, I have a shameful little bag of white flour tortellini lurking in my pantry. By weight, it's slightly lower in calories than other dried pastas, I guess because the stuffing is less calorie-dense.

This dish could be modified to use any whole wheat pasta, but today we are looking at spinach and ricotta tortellinis in all their white flour glory. I used a very small portion and and pumped the dish up with tons of shrimp and asparagus, low-cal powerhouses loaded with protein and nutrients, respectively. I wanted a sauce that didn't add a lot of extra calories or richness, something light and summery, and one of my absolute favourite flavour combinations is lemon, capers, and dill. So in they all went to create a lusciously lovely summer pasta dish. I looked up "summer" in Italian just to name this dish ;).


Sherylyn's Pasta L'estate

1/2C dry pasta (corn or rice pasta for GF)
1 clove garlic, crushed
10 asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 2" peices
1/4C chopped onion (I used spanish onions from my balcony, exciting!)
1/4C frozen peas (fresh would be awesome)
200g frozen peeled and deveined shrimp
2 Tbsp snipped dill
1/4C dry white wine
1/4C low-sodium chicken broth
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp capers
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated

Boil pasta as directed. In the meantime, heat a wok on medium-high heat and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add garlic and onion, sauté for one minute. Add asparagus and saute for another minute. Add chicken broth and stir occasionally until broth is nearly evaporated. Asparagus should be al dente at this point.

Things are going to move very quickly from this point. Add shrimp, dill, peas, lemon, capers and pepper. Sauté until shrimp is pink, maybe one minute. Remove vegetables and shrimp with a slotted spoon to a bowl,leaving behind liquid, add half the wine and simmer. Allow the liquid to reduce to a couple of tablespoons, then add the cornstarch dissolved in the reserved wine. It will thicken very quickly, stir contstantly until it's a thick paste and add the vegetables and shrimp back in. Add the parmesan as well and toss to coat.



Nutritional values: 436 calories, 11.8g fat, 43g protein, 38.7g carbs, 7.3g fibre, 900g sodium.

Pasta with Leeks and White Wine

We've been making this dish in my family for years, but the original version was extremely calorific so I stopped making it. I finally attempted a slimmed-down version and it turned out brilliantly, even better than the original I daresay! Using whole-wheat pasta instead of white makes it earthier, more sustaining, and tastier in my opinion. The leeks add volume and a strongly aromatic element, balanced by the savory flavours of the chicken broth, wine, and parmesan. Instead of using reduced whipping cream to make a heavy cream sauce, I kept it a clear sauce with just a touch of flour to thicken, and a few spoonfuls of light cream cheese to add a velvety creaminess.

Pasta with Leeks and White Wine

4 oz(112g) whole wheat spagetti or spagettini or fettucine
olive oil cooking spray
1 leek, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4C reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4C dry white wine
1 Tbsp flour, any kind but multigrain
3 Tbsp low-fat cream cheese
1/4C finely grated parmesan or romano cheese
fresh ground mixed peppercorns (green, red, white, and black)

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta and cook according to directions for al dente pasta.

In the meantime, heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat and spray with olive oil cooking spray. Add the leeks and garlic and saute until the leeks are slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add in the broth and wine and simmer on medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Mix the flour in a small bowl with a little broth until smooth and add to leeks, stirring to incorporate, and simmer for another 5 minutes to thicken sauce. Add the cream cheese, then the grated cheese, stirring well after each addition. The sauce should be smooth under all the leeks, though the leeks do a good job of hiding any lumps if that happens! Toss in the pasta and season liberally with the fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately.

This makes two generous servings. A good thing to serve it with is a nice roasted chicken breast and green salad. You could even add the chicken right to the pasta for a main dish pasta. Yum!

Nutritional values (per half recipe): 368 cals, 9g fat, 18g protein, 52g carbs, 6g fibre, 550mg sodium.