Today I combined elements of two classic sauces, Romesco and marinara, to make a delicious pasta sauce. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but I think it’s destined to become a staple in my repertoire. The roasted red peppers and toasted almonds add lovely body and a smoky flavor to the tomato sauce, while the hefty dose of crushed red peppers and garlic keep things interesting. (Of course, if you don’t like spicy food, just leave the peppers out and it will still be great.)

This sauce has a nutritional edge over plain old marinara, too – the peppers are an amazing source of vitamins C and A, not to mention fiber and those orange-red cartonoids that are so good for you. And of course, the almonds provide antioxidants and healthy fats. So you can eat your pasta and feel good about it, too.

I can’t wait to try some variations on this sauce. The creaminess from the almonds brings vodka sauce to mind, so next time I may add some vodka – why not? I’m also planning to use it in a mushroom lasagna. Seriously, I think I’m in love.

Pasta with Spicy Romesco Marinara Sauce

2 large red bell peppers (or a mixture of red and yellow), roasted and peeled
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (see note below)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti, penne or rigatoni (use gluten-free pasta if you prefer)

Puree the roasted peppers, almonds and vinegar in a blender or food processor until smooth. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and pepper puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the basil. Cook the pasta until al dente, toss with the sauce and serve.

Note: the quality of the canned crushed tomatoes does make a difference here. I used the organic Bionaturae brand, and they were delicious. Bionaturae or Pomi diced/chopped tomatoes will also work, because they are really more like crushed than the description implies. Muir Glen’s crushed tomatoes are also a good option.

Serves 4-6

I hear everyone talking about what they’re going to eat on Sunday for the Super Bowl. Pizza, nachos, wings and chips, oh my.

But fear not, football fans. You don’t have to lose any sports fan cred just because you don’t want to keel over from a heart attack this weekend. Here is a quick rundown of some of my Super Bowl Sunday faves.

From snacks to entrees to desserts, these recipes will spice up your party without clogging your arteries. I might be eating some of these myself, although I have to confess: I generally like my football only in Friday Night Lights form!

My Healthy Super Bowl Faves:

Vegan and Gluten-Free Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins from Daily Garnish

Spicy Kale Chips

Spicy Avocado Dip from I Heart Wellness

Garbanzo Salad with Mexican Mango Dressing from My New Roots (beautiful blog!)

Smoky, Spicy Vegetarian Chili (which, by the way, is a finalist in a Chow.com contest – vote!)

Healthy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies from Healthy Food for Living

Tacos with Greens and Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato Chips from She Wears Many Hats

Muhammara (Red Pepper and Walnut Dip)

Garlic Rosemary White Bean Dip from Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

I recently received a gift of some pomegranate balsamic vinegar (thanks, Pam!) from the Filling Station in New York’s Chelsea Market. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it.

I had a stash of root vegetables, and roasted them up with the pomegranate balsamic and some extra virgin olive oil. The vinegar caramelizes in the hot oven, and has just the right sweet-tart quality. I hate to use the word “yum”, but … yum!

Pomegranate balsamic vinegar might sound like an exotic ingredient, but you can get it right on Amazon. It’s well worth tracking down, and I’m sure you’ll find loads of uses for it. It’s perfect for salad dressings, but would also be good drizzled on braised greens or a bowl of lentil soup. Me, I could practically drink the stuff right from the bottle.

Recipe Note: the vegetable combination I’ve suggested here is terrific, but feel free to change it up. Cauliflower and sweet potatoes would be my top alternate contenders.

Pomegranate Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

1 large red onion, cut into chunks
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch lengths (or half moons if the carrot is very thick)
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
10 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pomegranate balsamic vinegar (or substitute fig or regular balsamic)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with the oil and vinegar. Spread on two rimmed baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Roast for 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned and tender to your liking.

Serves 4

If you like this recipe, please click the “Like” or “Tweet” button below. Thanks!

In honor of the Minimalist as he exits the Times’ Dining section, I made one of Mark Bittman’s recipes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (with a very minimalist photo to match!).  Leave it to Bittman to come up with what must be the world’s healthiest veggie burger. This recipe is pretty much just beans, greens and sweet potatoes – you can’t get much more nutritious than that.

I eat some variation of beans & greens several times a week, usually with whole wheat pasta. This recipe gives me a good reason to skip the pasta for a change. Plus, you can make a big batch of the mixture one day, then form and cook the burgers for several days after.

Note that I’ve pictured this burger sans bun. Since they’re are a little on the soft side, I think “patty” might be a better name than “burger”.  I can’t quite imagine eating one on a bun. But served simply on a plate with a topping like Bittman’s onion chutney? Fantastic. I’ve included the chutney recipe below, too.

A few recipe notes:

– The original recipe calls for cinnamon, but I thought that might add a bit too much sweetness. So I’ve substituted ground coriander and paprika for the cinnamon, to good effect. I also included a jalapeño pepper for added kick.

– The recipe calls for 2 cups of cooked greens. I used two very packed cups of greens, making this a greens heavy (and therefore quite light) burger.

Spicy Vegetable Burgers
Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

2 packed cups cooked kale, squeezed dry and finely chopped
2 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans (about a can and a half)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and grated (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh (not dried) bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

Mash the cannellini beans in a large bowl, so they are mostly mashed but with some beans still holding their shape. Stir in the greens and mix well. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the grated sweet potato and peppers, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, for about 5 minutes or until just tender. Stir in the bread crumbs and spices and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir the sweet potato mixture into the bean mixture. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, then let the mixture stand for a few minutes (or refrigerate for up to a day). Form into 4-6 patties. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and saute the burgers until browned on one side, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook another 4-5 minutes to brown the other side. Serve with onion chutney (below) or other topping of choice.

Caramelized Onion Chutney
From How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

1 large yellow onion, sliced
Salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 jalapeño or other fresh green chile
1 fresh hot red chile, or another jalapeño
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Put the onions in a large skillet and cook, covered, over medium heat, for 20 minutes. Add spices, and salt to taste. Cook, uncovered for 15 minutes longer. Stir in sugar, then process in food processor until semi-smooth.

This strawberry banana almond smoothie is my attempt at cutting down on my morning bread habit (mmm…toast.)

Some smoothie recipes call for added sugar, maple syrup, apple juice or sugary-sweet vanilla yogurt, and in my book that almost turns a smoothie into dessert. (This recipe from Food & Wine includes 3/4 cup of maple syrup and has 60 grams of carbs per serving!) I wanted to create one that was lower in sugar and calories, so I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk as a base, and added no additional sweetener. I was worried that the result would be too un-sweet to be appealing, but it’s actually perfect. The natural sweetness of the fruit is quite enough, and the addition of almond butter provides a hint of complexity. You won’t feel like you drank a milkshake after drinking it, you’ll just feel virtuous and refreshed. Not a bad way to start the day.

For you DIY types, why not use this recipe as an excuse to make your own almond milk?  My friend Don made his own a while back, and said it’s easy and delicious, so it’s definitely on my must-do list. Homemade almond milk is far less expensive, and there’s no wasteful packaging – so what are we all waiting for? Plus you can make vegan almond cheese with the leftover almond meal!  

Substitutions and variations: I like almond milk, but the downside is that it doesn’t contain much protein. The almond butter does add some, but to really boost the protein content of this smoothie, you can substitute soy milk, or a mixture of plain nonfat yogurt and milk, for the almond milk. For some Omega-3 action, add a teaspoon or two of flax oil. A little vanilla extract is a nice addition, too.

Strawberry Banana Almond Smoothie

1 1/2 cups chilled unsweetened vanilla almond milk, plus more if needed
1 heaping cup of chopped strawberries
1 1/2 medium bananas
1 tablespoon almond butter

Puree in a blender. If the smoothie is too thick, add additional almond milk as desired.

Serves 2

Recently, I needed a vegetarian centerpiece for an Italian-themed meal (my own birthday dinner, as a matter of fact!). Beans might not be the first thing that comes to your mind, but these cannellini beans were special enough to impress all the meat lovers at the table. It all starts with the beans you use. I’m sure regular old store-bought cannellini beans would be fine here, but Rancho Gordo’s amazing Runner Cannellini beans took this dish to a higher level of deliciousness. They’re huge, with a mild, earthy flavor and soft but substantial texture. I wanted to infuse the dish with the flavors of fresh herbs, so I added sage, thyme and rosemary. I’m sure fresh marjoram and Italian parsley would also be great. I also used an entire head of garlic, but the flavor is very mild when the garlic is stewed this way, so don’t you even think of skimping.

The dish comes out slightly differently depending on the tomatoes you use. The can of chopped tomatoes I had on hand were imported from Italy and packed in tomato puree. That made the stew quite tomato-y, as you can see from the photo. If you use tomatoes in juice, the dish is a bit more bean-centric. I can’t say which is better, because I absolutely love both.

So, how to serve these beans? For my special dinner, I served them on soft polenta, which was just about perfect. I could also envision them on a bed of cooked spinach or kale. Of course, I could happily eat a plain bowl with some crusty bread. However you eat them, they’re heart-healthy comfort food to the extreme.

Cannellini Bean Stew with Fresh Herbs

1 pound large cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained (I used Rancho Gordo Runner Cannellini beans)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
One head garlic, cloves peeled and lightly crushed
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
4 cups vegetable stock (I recommend Imagine No-Chicken stock; otherwise. Use gluten-free stock if you are gluten-sensitive)
1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes in puree or juice (see note above)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven (one with a tight-fitting lid). Saute the garlic, celery and onion for 10-12 minutes, until beginning to brown. Add the beans, herbs and stock. Bring to a boil, cover and bake for 1½ hours, or until tender (this can vary depending on your beans). Check every 20 minutes or so and if necessary, add additional water to keep the beans covered (they can get a little drier near the end of the cooking time, since you will be adding tomatoes). Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and return to the oven, covered, for 20-30 minutes. The beans should be very tender and somewhat saucy.

Serves 8