Top 10: Healthy Pasta Dishes
Farfalle with Zucchini and Parsley-Almond Pesto
Melissa Rubel combines roasted almonds, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for a nutty, fresh-tasting pesto. This pasta dish is terrific served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and served as a cold pasta salad.
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Spaghetti with Lemon, Chile and Creamy Spinach
Instead of using heavy cream, this tangy, spicy dish calls for low-fat yogurt, which is packed with protein and calcium. Stirring a little flour into the yogurt prevents curdling as it simmers and creates a thick, rich and satisfying sauce for all kinds of pasta and vegetables.
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Linguine with Tomatoes, Baby Zucchini and Herbs
"This dish makes you understand the less-is-more approach of Italian cooking," says Andreas Viestad about his pasta tossed with a raw tomato-and-zucchini sauce.
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Spaghetti with Clams and Green Beans
This is Australian chef Neil Perry's variation on the Italian classic spaghetti vongole (pasta with clams). He adds green beans to make the dish fresher-tasting, and then finishes it with a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano. As he says, "Serving cheese with seafood is not the norm in Italy, but I just love it here."
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Pennette with Spicy Tomato Sauce
When he was trying to lose weight, Mark Strausman relied on this garlicky, rustic whole wheat pasta. Not only is it loaded with fiber and lycopene-rich canned tomatoes, but it's also deeply satisfying.
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Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken
This delicate, Asian-influenced chicken is satisfying yet light.
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Cold Peanut Noodles with Tofu and Red Peppers
A vast improvement on the usual sesame noodles made famous by a million Chinese take-out menus, this silky version includes chunks of tofu and sweet, crunchy slices of red bell pepper.
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Carrot Macaroni and Cheese
The silky carrot puree mixed with the cheddar here is a terrific source of vitamin A and helps reduce the amount of fat in the recipe.
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Seafood Pasta with Tuscan Hot Oil
Olive oil infused with crushed red pepper flakes lends this dish with a perfect amount of spice.