Signature Dish of the Day: Beet, Mushroom, & Zucchini Penne Rigate Pasta
Signature Dish of the Day: Happy Friday! Wrapping up our week with this wonderfully vibrant and truly epic Beet, Mushroom, & Zucchini Penne Rigate Pasta as our signature dish of the day today 😍. This wholly vegetarian masterpiece is undoubtedly the star highlight of our week and consists of a beautiful medley of whole wheat penne rigate pasta, red beets, green zucchini, and portobello mushrooms as key ingredients. I developed this new recipe recently in a bid to infuse some creativity into my typical vegetarian pasta dish. I had bought a bag of whole wheat penne rigate a while back in my quest to experiment with different varieties of pasta, so I decided to finally use it for this particular recipe to see how it would turn out. To prepare this dish, I first boiled the whole wheat pasta in about 4 cups of water seasoned with some salt and a dash of olive oil for about 9 minutes. Thereafter, I saved 2 cups of the boiling water for later use and drained the rest of the water out completely. Using a large skillet, I lightly browned some pine nuts in about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil before pouring in some diced tomatoes and red bell peppers to create my base sauté. I seasoned this base mixture with some ground black pepper, smoked paprika, and turmeric before adding in about 1/4 cup of chopped portobello mushrooms. I mixed these ingredients thoroughly to blend together, seasoned with a combination of salt, oregano, and a sprinkle of dried basil flakes, and left the mushrooms to simmer under medium heat for about 15 minutes. I kept adding the pasta water I had saved from time to time to ensure the mushrooms did not stick to the bottom of the pan. After some time, I added some frozen peas and carrots for extra color and let this cook for another 5 minutes under medium heat until tender. I then poured in the cooked whole wheat pasta and stirred thoroughly to blend well with the rest of the base mixture. In a separate skillet, I sautéed about 1/4 cup of julienned beet root slices with half-moon zucchini slices in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I seasoned this mixture with some ground black pepper, smoked paprika, and salt to taste, poured a dash of red wine vinegar to add a tangy flavor to the vegetables, then covered and let it all simmer under medium heat for about 10 minutes. Once done, I poured this cooked beet and zucchini medley into the pasta and mixed to blend well with the pasta medley. I garnished the pasta with some dry parsley flakes and roasted sesame seeds and served it hot as a main dinner entree. This colorful dish may require quite an investment of effort but truly stands out as the perfect dinner comfort food that is not only gratifying but also packed with amazing flavor. Enjoy and have a great weekend! 😋
