vegetarian pasta and salad recipes!
December 7, 2011 1:43 PM   Subscribe

what are your favourite vegetarian pasta and salad recipes (inclu. dressings)?

... preferably easy with few ingredients for the salad + dressing but can be a bit more complicated for the pasta recipes!

I don't have any preferences apart from no meat or seafood!
posted by paperscissorsrock to Food & Drink (9 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
Super Slaw
posted by plinth at 1:56 PM on December 7, 2011


Here is a yummy pasta recipe:

Pasta with Cauliflower

Take one head of cauliflower. Cut into slices about 1/2" thick.

In a hot pan, with olive oil, lay the cauliflower flat and brown it. Once the first side is browned, throw in a chopped onion. Add salt. Flip cauliflower, brown on second side.

Once cauliflower and onions are browned, add chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, fennel seed, and dried thyme or oregano. Add about 2 cups of stock. (Chicken and veggie both work.) Simmer, mashing the cauliflower occasionally. When liquid has reduced to about a 1/2 cup and cauliflower is tender, add a glug of milk, half & half, or cream. Heat for a few minutes more without boiling.

Toss with penne. (You can let the penne finish cooking in the sauce before it's fully reduced. This makes it yummier.)

Remove from heat and add generous amounts of parmesan or asiago and a good grating of lemon zest.
posted by mudpuppie at 1:56 PM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


my aunt would make this for me.
egg noodles, ranch dressing, and the crumbled bread crumbs you buy in a cannister.
she said it was pretty much a tuna casarole without the tuna.
eitherway, it was essy to make and i really liked it.
i actually preferred thousan island over ranch though, and i would mix in chopped celery and cucumbers
posted by udon at 2:39 PM on December 7, 2011


Any kind of greens--collards, mustard greens, spinach, kale, arugula--chopped and sauteed in olive oil with garlic, red onion and red pepper flakes till just limp. Dump cooked penne on top and it's great. Add fresh-grated real imported parmesiano-reggiano and fresh-ground pepper. Sometimes squeeze in lemon juice afterward, sometimes add anchovies to the sautee step.

Or chop good tomatoes into EV olive oil, with garlic and a lot of fresh basil and parsley, let sit (at room temp) for an hour or two, and toss with good spaghetti or linguini.

Or sautee rappini or broccoli in olive oil and garlic and onion, toss in some kalamata olives, toss with al dente rotini or penne or mostaccioli or whatever. Top with parm.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 4:43 PM on December 7, 2011


This is my favorite thing.
posted by St. Sorryass at 5:07 PM on December 7, 2011


My (non-vegetarian) boyfriend and parents love this dish: pasta with artichoke hearts and olives. Cook some pasta - bowties or wheels stand up well in my experience, penne or something else similar in size should be great too. Heat some oil in a skillet, add a few cloves chopped garlic. Once that's fragrant, throw in a can of artichoke hearts and a can of sliced black olives. Let it brown a little then add the drained pasta. Brown to taste, we love it kind of crispy and fried. Salt to taste.

You can also use other vegetables. We've used frozen broccoli and cauliflower before too.
posted by Lady Li at 6:16 PM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


This is my endless vegetarian pasta recipe: Cook some short, chewy pasta (or gnocchi or cheese ravioli) in salted water. Sautee or roast any vegetable or combination of vegetables that you like with olive oil or butter and salt and pepper. Sautee some chopped onion with a bit of garlic. Toss pasta and veggies, in proportions of your liking, with butter or olive oil, and top with parmesan or goat cheese.
posted by elizeh at 7:44 PM on December 7, 2011


I find that the flavors of pasta puttanesca are so bold that even this carnivore loves it. You can do it the proper way or the cheat's way.

THE PROPER WAY:

1. Start by sauteeing a chopped onion or some minced garlic.

2. Dump in a can of tomatoes, then let that simmer.

3. Mince up a few anchovy fillets, chop a handful of black (pitted) olives and dish out tablespoon of capers.

3. Then dump those in and let the whole thing simmer. Taste and add a little more of the anchovies, olives, or capers if you think it needs it. Serve over pasta.

THE CHEAT'S WAY:

1. Get a jar of pre-made marinara sauce from the supermarket.

2. Start heating that up in a saucepan.

3. Proceed from step 3 above.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:56 PM on December 7, 2011


Some form of this appears every two weeks without fail:

Saute onions in olive oil or butter. Toss in some garlic (you'd be appalled if you know how much garlic I use). Saute mushrooms, maybe some zucchini, maybe some broccoli, maybe some carrots. Really, whatever your mood is and what vegetables you've got on hand.

Cook your pasta at the same time, I tend to go for penne for this dish but I also use rigatoni too.

Everything mostly done? Splash some white wine into the veggies, if that's your thing. If not, it still works. Then, some feta. I use most of a block. If you aren't using wine, maybe a splash of lemon juice, fresh or in a bottle can be nice.

Put your pasta in with veggies, stir it around. Add some fresh herbs if you have them. My favorite is fresh basil, either torn by hand or chiffonade (read: a fun way to say slice it into ribbons). But some fresh parsley can be super nice too.

The feta makes its own sauce for the veggies and the pasta and makes it super yummy. I cheat sometimes and do fresh parm on top but it is sooooo not needed.
posted by ugf at 10:31 PM on December 7, 2011


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