Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta Is The Perfect Healthy Meal

This Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta is the perfect recipe to try this week if you want to treat your family with a tasty and healthy meal. It’s made entirely from healthy ingredients and packed with fresh vegetables. The best thing is that you’ll have a complete and healthy meal in 30 minutes or less.

Try this tasty recipe that Christine Rooney from The Rustic Foodie blog shared, and make sure you follow her for more wonderful recipes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4OOr9DA4Rl/

Ingredients

  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 roma tomatoes can use 2 large tomatoes or 1 package cherry tomatoes
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 package Barilla Red Lentil Rotini
  • 1 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 cup minced basil or herb of choice

Instructions

  1. Mince 6 cloves of garlic.
  2. Dice 4 roma tomatoes (can use 2 large tomatoes or 1 package of cherry tomatoes). This should yield about 2 cups of diced tomatoes.
  3. Roughly chop 2 cups of spinach (or hearty green of choice) and cut 1 cup of pitted Kalamata olives into halves.
  4. Boil 1 pot of water and prepare 1 box of Barilla Red Lentil Rotini [insert link] according to package instructions. Drain when finished and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
  5. Heat a skillet to medium and add 2 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil. Once heated, add the minced garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add the diced tomatoes to the skillet along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes, stirring often. The tomatoes should be softened but not mushy at this point.
  7. Add the cooked pasta, the reserved pasta water, the chopped spinach, Kalamata olives, and a cup of Parmesan cheese. Stir everything together and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the spinach has wilted. Adjust salt and pepper levels to your liking.