I love Pasta, but when you are trying to lower your carb intake, it’s something we tend to limit or avoid.
I was introduced to Dreamfields Pasta years ago when a friend of mine was encouraging the lead chemist to move forward with promoting his discovery.
Since that time in 2004, there has certainly been some controversy over the company’s claim to make a pasta with only 5g of “digestible” carbs.
You can read more about it here.
I would like to assure you that the pasta does tastes great…
Here are the ingredients
1 pound Dreamfields spaghetti
16-32 Oz. french green beans (there is no right or wrong amount.)
2 Tbs. vegetable oil or olive oil for sautéing veggies
2 Tbs. Sesame oil (to toss w/cooked pasta)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 1/2 Cups Stock (I use Beef)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. chopped fresh ginger
16 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 bunches of scallions, sliced tops only
1 C chopped fresh basil leaves
“Squeeze “of a lime
1 Tbs. Honey
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sriracha to taste
If you have them, a couple Tbs. of toasted white sesame seeds are nice to add at the finish:)
The recipe starts with these…
I begin by chopping 1 large sweet onion, ginger, garlic, and slicing the mushrooms.
If you’ve never used fresh ginger I encourage you to try it! Simply peel the outer skin with a pairing knife and then thinly slice, and then dice. You want to chop to a fine dice…like garlic, you don’t want to bite into a big piece.
Saute the onion in 2 Tbs. of olive oil or vegetable oil. When they begin to get tender, add the sliced mushrooms & ginger, add the garlic last because it can burn easily.
While the above is sautéing, cook the pasta to al dente. This should only take about 7 or 8 minutes. (check by pulling a noodle out and tasting. You want it to be firm and for the starch flavor to just be cooked off)
‘Al dente’ means it should have a bit of ‘bite’ left in it. If it sticks, (when thrown on the wall) it’s just mushy.
A good Italian once told me to NEVER rinse my pasta in water. (to prevent sticking) When it is taken out of the water it is a bit like a sponge, so utilize this for your taste buds and either put directly into your sauce (it will absorb the flavor) or drizzle and toss with a flavored oil and watch it soak up the yummy flavors!
For this recipe I drizzle a bit (about 2 tablespoons) of sesame oil on the “just drained” noodles & toss. They soak up the flavor and it really adds to this dish.
Set aside until the end.
After the Mushroom mixture is cooked through, add about 2 1/2 cups of Beef Broth or Stock (you could add any stock here…chicken or even vegetable)
To thicken slightly, mix another 1/2 C liquid (stock or water) to 1/4 C of cornstarch.
Whisk until smooth and add to the pan a little bit at a time until the desired thickness is achieved. I like to add just enough to give the Veggies and Sauce a little “body” that will really “stick” to the Pasta. If you get it too thick, just add a little more stock.
Squeeze about 1 Tbs. lime juice into the pan and add the honey. (it balances the acid)
Season with salt and pepper. I add Sriracha sauce for heat but you could also use red pepper flakes. (start with 1 Tbs. Sriracha or 2 tsp. red pepper flakes and adjust to your liking.
You can add any veggies you like to these noodles…I love the convenience of “steaming” Haricot Verts (fancy french name for “skinny green beans”) right in the bag using the microwave. You could add broccoli, bok choy, or carrots.
Steam veggies of your choice until tender and add to the “mix.”
Take off the heat, toss in the pasta, along with chopped Scallion tops and Basil.
Serve Warm or cold. My family loves it both ways.
You can also add some chicken. An easy way to do this is to buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery, pull off the white meat in small pieces and toss in at the end.
Yummy and easy.
1Arthouse 