Arugula, with Pasta & Beans

I suppose it has something to do with winter, but I realized the other night that I've hardly been posting any recipes this year.  (Yikes!  I had no idea!)  My apologies.  It isn't that I haven't been cooking, it's just that I am not really inspiried during the late winter, and do you really want to know how many times we eat spaghetti with meat sauce?

Husband and I have been trying to eat a little more healthfully as of late, and those recipes seem kind of boring, too.  But then I thought, my boring might be useful to someone else.  So here we are.  A vegetarian dish with pasta and beans (complete protein) and the first of the year's arugula - I love arugula - which comes together in less than 15 minutes, makes a nice lunch, and can be eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature.  It makes a nice thing to take along in one's lunchbox.  In fact, I packed it for Husband today, so I hope he's enjoying it.

This is another recipe to show how a few staple pantry items (pasta, beans, roasted red peppers) can come together with even the earliest crop of local greens.

Arugual with Farfalle & Beans - serves 4

1/2 pound farfalle or other small pasta shape
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
1 large bag (8 cups or so, 4 hands full) arugula or other nice peppery green, rinsed in several changes of water
1 tbsp good, tasty extra virgin olive oil
freshly cracked pepper
salt
2 tsp lemon juice

Cook the farfalle according to package directions, drain and set aside.  Place a large pot over medium heat and add the beans and roasted red peppers, and arugula.  Drizzle with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.  Turn the heat off and dump the still-hot drained pasta on top and allow to sit for a few minutes, until the arugula has wilted.  Toss everything with tongs and taste to correct seasoning.  This dish can be eaten hot, cold, or at room temperature.  It's very good for you. 

Comments

[Dave]

The food here is wonderful and healthful. I cook meat and I love vegetarian cuisine as much as meat and have never been under the impression with any post that anything negative has ever been communicated about vegetarian meals. Few try harder to present a better balance of food in each dish.

[lisa the waitress]

Angela,

I am sorry to hear that my writing has given you the impression that I have a negative attitude toward the vegetarian diet, and that is going to cause you to discontinue reading my website; however, I would ask that you consider the following:

- I work in a job where I have to have a constant supply of energy, and it might be 10 hours between meals. It is for this reason that I am personally very careful to ensure I am eating a complete protein when eating a vegetarian meal; this is personal. Also, I like to combine my carbs so that I can get the quick burst of energy pasta provides along with the steady energy provided by beans. To me, that's just sensible nutrtion. I have written a few meat-based recipes where I stated I hoped they had enough protein & complex carbs to get me through a shift at work.

- when writing vegetarian recipes for my website, I think it is important to make them seem like a complete meal. Perhaps this is a misconception I have as a meat-eater, but if I put up a post as a vegetarian dish, and it was arugula with lemon juice and olive oil, well, that is a delicious recipe, but it's also a simple salad, and not something I would consider to be a vegetarian meal.

- I don't believe I have ever made it seem as though it is difficult for vegetarians to get protein. I have said many times "this dish provides a complete protein," but I don't think I've ever said it can be hard to get the necessary nutrients for vegetarians. I might have mentioned it can be difficult for a vegan to get necessary nutrients, and that is absolutely true: no one should blindly go into a vegan diet. That doesn't mean it is difficult, but one should educate themselves on the diet before they go in.

- I am a meat eater. This is not a vegetarian website. However, I am a pretty healthy eater and I do make many, many vegetarian meals at home and share some of them. I might be stuck in my formative years from nutrition classes when I learned about "complete proteins," but that is who I am. It is something I am concerned about when cooking for myself, just as with all of my recipes - I strive for balance, whether for flavor or whatever.

All in all, it is impossible to be all things to all people. My basic philosophy is to create clean, mostly healthy recipes using the best possible ingredients, using as many locally produced products and humanely raised animals as possible.

That's the best I can do.

Again, I regret that you choose to no longer visit my website, but I stand behind the recipe and my opinion on its nutritive value. And, the fact that it takes only a few brief minutes to produce, I think its an easy-peasy source of any kind of protein.

[lisa the waitress]

Jeff - nothing wrong with the Rossi! I was just there on Monday and also had a fantastic meal!

Angela, I am very sorry to hear that you will no longer be visiting my website. I am composing a longer response to your concerns.

[Angela]

I guess my issue is that I feel you are continuing to perpetuate the myth that a vegetarian has to work hard to get protein when in fact, it is not difficult at all if you are eating a healthy variety of foods (which is supported by the paper). I have noticed it on past posts, but let it go because I enjoyed your blog so much. Further, I think anyone reading your blog has an inherent interest in food and realizes that a rice diet isn't healthy. I've enjoyed your blog and even enrolled in a CSA this year based on your feedback on them. However, I won't be visiting anymore because having to answer the "but how do you get your protein?" question in real life is enough for me.

[emily]

Hello, I just found your blog after a Google search for CSAs in Central Ohio. My husband and I may be moving to the Columbus area this spring/summer and I can't tell you how thrilled and relieved I am to know that there are some good local farmer's markets and CSAs. Thanks for all you do with this blog!

[Jeff]

You have no idea how comforting it is that Lisa the Waitress gets into a creative slump with recipes at this time of year, too. My cooking buddy and I have been at a loss -- looking forward to seasonal veggies but not quite there yet. We even opted to go to The Rossi tonight to do "research" instead of our regular weekly cooking. Thanks for posting this. It sounds yummy and will go in the inspiration file. Arugula rulez!

[lisa the waitress]

I found the information in the paper to be ambiguous, actually; although I found many vegan & veg sites which said the paper "emphasized" there was no need to combine proteins. The paper actually says not ALL types of veg need to be consumed at EACH meal. It does say that a variety of veggies needed to be consumed. I think it makes the assumption the reader is already eating a variety of veg. However, since our bodies are incapable of synthesizing amino acids, I would not feel comfortable telling readers they don't need to combine proteins.

For example, if you ate nothing but rice, you would eventually have serious deficiancies because you are not getting complete proteins. Your body won't magically make up for it, you have to eat a variety of other protein sources to have all of the necessary aminos consumed during the day to have a complete protein.

[Angela]

Just wanted to point out that as of 1998 the American Dietetic Association has taken the position that it is not necessary to combine foods (such as beans and pasta) to create a complete protein because there are enough amino acids in the body to complete the protein.