Rigatoni with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

Hey there, little coaster.

I'm not really a fan of the word "chunky", but that's what the recipe says.

I've made a pasta sauce similar to this before, but this one is super-easy and really tasty. I found the recipe in a March 2011 issue of Food Everyday by Martha Stewart. Another magazine that was recycled to the art room! Thanks fellow JJH teachers-not only are you providing valuable art materials for my classes, but you're also providing me with dinner ideas.

The recipe serves 6, and takes about 30 minutes to make. Not bad for a week night.

Ingredients.

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 1/2 pound mushrooms (cremini or button mushrooms, or whatever you can find at the grocery store), quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, minced*
• 1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree**
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound rigatoni

*We have recently started buying frozen garlic from Trader Joe's-it comes in frozen cubes (1 cube=1 clove) and it's so easy just to pop out of the tray and into the pot or frying pan!

**I could only find small cans, so I had to buy more than one. Guess it just depends on where you shop


Directions.

1. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook until vegetables soften slightly, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add tomato puree, sesason with salt and pepper, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook until zucchini is crisp-tender (oxymoron?), about 8 minutes. Stir in oregano
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and add to sauce, tossing to combine. Add enough pasta water to create a sauce that coats pasta. Serve immediately

Per serving: 390 cal; 6 g fat (1 g sat fat); 14 g protein; 71 g carb; 5 g fiber

If the pasta itself isn't enough for you, add a salad and some really good Italian bread, and enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to top your pasta with some grated parmesan cheese like we did. If only fresh parmesan wasn't so expensive...