Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce
Vegan Brown Rice Pasta with Kale, Spinach, and Red Sauce
In my never-ending quest to avoid refined carbohydrates, I’ve come across a few tasty, healthier alternatives- one of them is brown rice pasta. Brown rice pasta cooks differently than regular- it takes twice as long, and often produces excessive amounts of starch in the form of cloudy, bubbly water. This water often overflows from the pot, and is a mess to clean up. Tonight I experimented with cooking the pasta twice. I started with a pound of brown rice pasta. The pasta was placed in a large pot of salted, boiling water, cooked for 4 minutes, then drained. I then re-boiled the pasta in a fresh pot of water for 5 minutes. The end result was a less-starchy product. Try this procedure when cooking brown rice pasta- cooking times may vary depending on pasta shapes.
Serves 4-6
Prep-time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound of cooked brown rice pasta
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of minced garlic
3 tablespoons of minced shallots
3 packed cups of baby spinach
3 cups packed baby kale
3 tablespoons rough chop Italian flat-leaf parsley
3 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
Directions:
Cook the brown rice pasta as described above, then set aside.
Place a large stainless steel skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.
Once the olive oil has come to temperature, add the minced garlic and shallots. Cook the garlic and shallots until the veggies start to sweat, then begin to caramelize.
Add the baby spinach and baby kale- cook for 2 minutes.
Place the tomato sauce over the mixture, let it heat slightly, and add the pasta.
Gently toss the mixture with tongs gently, being careful not to tear the pasta.
Add the salt, pepper, and chopped parsley- mix thoroughly.
Garnish with chopped parsley- serve immediately!
Enjoy!
Chef Chuck Kerber
chefchuck@pittsburghhotplate.com
pittsburghhotplate.com
Chuck Kerber, Corporate Executive Chef, Site Author
