Healthy Pasta: The Sexy, Skinny, and Smart Way to Eat Your Favorite Food: A Cookbook - Couverture rigide

Linguine with Pancetta, Peas, and Zucchini
 
Use a vegetable peeler to peel the zucchini lengthwise into thin ribbons, stopping when you get to the very center where it is all seeds. You can use this same technique with carrots and peel long carrot ribbons, or also choose to use half carrots and half zucchini. The zucchini (or carrots or both) sliced this way also make a light, fresh summer salad when tossed raw with lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs.
 
Calories per Serving: 422
 
Serves 6
 
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces pancetta, diced
1 cup chopped scallions
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound linguine
1 cup frozen peas
2 medium zucchini, peeled into ribbons (see headnote)
Kosher salt
Crushed red pepper flakes
1⁄2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1⁄2 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
1⁄2 cup freshly grated Grana Padano
 
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and cook until the fat is rendered, about 4 minutes. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until the scallions are wilted, about 3 minutes.
 
2. Add the linguine to the boiling water. Once the pasta is cooking, add the peas and zucchini to the skillet and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Toss until the zucchini begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. Ladle in 1 cup pasta water and simmer and reduce by half while the pasta cooks.
 
3. When the pasta is al dente, remove it with a spider or small strainer and add directly to the sauce, along with the basil and parsley, reserving the pasta water. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce, adding a splash of pasta water if the pasta seems dry. Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle with the grated Grana Padano, toss, and serve.
Baked Rigatoni with Creamy Mushrooms and Squash
 
The combination of mushrooms and butternut squash is well suited for fall, but you can substitute other roasted vegetables in this dish, according to the season. The white sauce is a lower calorie and lower fat version of the classic besciamella.
 
Calories per Serving: 494
 
Serves 6
 
1 pound mixed mushrooms (such as button, cremini, shiitake, oyster, chanterelle, or porcini), thickly sliced (about 6 cups)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 fresh bay leaf
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound rigatoni
1 cup shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella
¼ cup freshly grated Grana Padano
 
1. Preheat the oven to 450˚F with two sheet pans on the top and bottom racks.
 
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta. In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms with ½ tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt. Spread on one of the preheated pans. Repeat with the squash and the remaining olive oil and season with salt and the thyme. Spread on the second sheet pan and roast both until browned and tender, stirring and switching the pans from top to bottom halfway through the cooking time, about 20 minutes in all.
 
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter is melted, whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste. Let cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw flour smell, then whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Add the bay leaf and nutmeg and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
 
4. Add the rigatoni to the boiling water. When the pasta is very al dente, several minutes shy of the package cooking time, drain and rinse. In a small bowl, toss the mozzarella and Grana Padano together. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, white sauce, and roasted vegetables and season with salt. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce.
 
5. Pour into a 13 by 9-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Sprinkle with the grated cheese mixture. Bake until the sauce is bubbly on the edges and the top is browned, 15 to 17 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

 
Excerpted from Healthy Pasta by Joseph Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2015 by Tanya Bastianich Manuali and Restaurant Man LLC. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.