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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

The Lighter Side Of Italian Baked Pasta

Jenn Harris |
February 1, 2010 | 7:08 a.m. PST

Staff Reporter
picturename
Using cheese with strong flavor means you can use less and still get great taste.
(photo by Jenn Harris)

The words healthy, light, Italian and baked almost never go in the same sentence. That is, unless your talking about my sister, Jessica's, healthy, light Italian pasta bake. She's one to watch her calories but like me she never wants to skimp on taste.  She also indulges in a few of her cravings, so this week when she in dire need of some pasta she used wholesome ingredients to makes a satisfying Italian meal.

Jessica replaced white pasta with whole wheat penne and added lots of fresh vegetables. She diced red bell peppers, zucchini, onion and peas and bought a bottled marina sauce from Trader Joe's. It's easy to kick up a bottled sauce with fresh herbs like basil and oregano and lots of crushed garlic. For the cheese, instead of mozzarella, Jessica grated some reduced fat smoked gouda cheese also from Trader Joe's and some fontina.  If you use strong cheese, or smoked cheese with lots of flavor, you can use less of it, saving money and calories.

The pasta bakes in the oven with the vegetables and cheese until the top bubbles and the pasta gets just crispy enough around the edges to make it irresistible. My sister had to scold me so that i didn't pick off all of the topping before she served the dish to our family.

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta
2 zucchini cut into cubes
2 red bell peppers cut into small strips
1 yellow onion
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cups marina sauce
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1 cup grated reduced fat smoked gouda cheese
1 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Boil the penne for about 6 minutes (it will fully cook in the oven).

Coat a baking sheet with the olive oil and top with the all of the veggies, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes.

Toss the pasta and vegetable together with half of the cheese in a bowl.  Place the mixture into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!


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