Tag: Green Goddess Dressing

Green Goddess Pasta + Giveaway

High fiber pasta tossed with spring vegetables and luxuriously creamy green goddess sauce is perfect for Meatless Monday – or any night of the week!

I’m officially ready for spring, and it seems like a lot of you are too. Let’s help usher it in with some delicious pasta loaded with spring vegetables!

A month or so ago, Dreamfields asked me to create a recipe for their virtual dinner party in celebration of Healthy Pasta Month. Since they’re my favorite pasta company, I of course had to say yes! I was torn over what direction I wanted to take it though, so I asked my followers on facebook if I should do something with a rich, tomato-based sauce, or something lighter with white wine. The latter option got overwhelming support… but then someone suggested avocado and the rest was history.

I’d never had avocado with pasta before, but inspiration struck and I blended it into a rich, creamy sauce based on green goddess dressing. The avocado makes the sauce luxuriously creamy, while the fresh herbs and citrus juices make it perfect for spring. To keep the “green” theme going, I tossed the pasta with asparagus, peas, and arugula. The result is fresh, vegetal, and downright delicious. This green goddess pasta will definitely be my go-to pasta this spring!

My first formal introduction to Dreamfields pasta was two years ago at Mixed. They were one of the main sponsors of the conference, and I spent a good amount of time chatting with them about their healthy, high fiber pasta. I loved how excited they were about their product and their enthusiasm rubbed off on me – I made a point to seek it out the very next time I went to the grocery store.

After quickly scanning the shelf, I immediately started laughing. Why? I had bought their pasta countless times without even realizing it! I’m sure that I picked it up the first time because of the higher fiber content, but I had gotten into the habit of grabbing the brand and completely forgot that it was a healthier option. I just kept buying it because it was good! It’s still the pasta I buy about 8 times out of 10 (the exceptions being when I want a specific shape that they don’t make or if I’m looking for fresh pasta), and I love that  I can feel good about it.

Green Goddess Pasta

Author: Lauren Keating

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • ½ package Dreamfields® high fiber spaghetti
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ avocado
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • ½ lime, juiced
  • 1 sprig each fresh parsley, cilantro, and tarragon, chopped
  • 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • ¼ cup reduced fat sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
  • 2 cups arugula
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the spaghetti and cook 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook an additional 4 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain.
  2. While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce: Add the avocado, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lime, juice, and fresh herbs to a food processor or blender. Process on high for 20-30 seconds, or until smooth. Scrape into a small bowl and stir in the sour cream. Set aside.
  3. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan set over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook 2-3 minutes, or until soft. Add the peas and arugula cook another 2-3 minutes, or until the arugula is wilted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cooked spaghetti, asparagus, and sauce. Stir to combine; season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 355 Fat: 18.2 Carbohydrates: 42.5 Fiber: 9.2 Protein: 10.0

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Want to experience Dreamfields for yourself? One lucky winner will get a whole case of it – you can make some of my recipes or create your own! Enter using the form below. When you’re done with that, don’t forget that there’s still time left to enter to win a gorgeous set of Dansk cookware!

You need to enable javascript to enter this campaign !<br />Powered by <a href=”http://www.promosimple.com/”>PromoSimple</a>.

This post was sponsored by Dreamfields, a brand I use frequently in my own kitchen. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me inspired! 

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Green Goddess Veggie Dip Cups: a portable summer party appetizer

I was put on appetizer duty for a friend’s barbecue today.  She wanted to solve the problem of the appetizer table that sits untouched while all her guests spread out around the yard talking and drinking.  She asked me to come with something more portable that people could take with them instead of being tethered to a table.

I came up with these little veggie dip cups.  I love them.  They’re colorful and healthy, and they completely avoid the whole communal dip in the sun issue.   I hate that.

I started with a dip version of my homemade Green Goddess Dressing.   I layered it at the bottom of each cup.

Then I julienned the most colorful bunch of veggies I could find.  Rainbow carrots, peppers, jicama, thin asparagus, English cucumber…anything that was crunchy and long enough to stack in the cup.  For vegetables like asparagus and green beans I blanched them in boiling water for just about 30 seconds to take the raw ‘edge’ off, and then put them into ice water to stop the cooking and keep their bright color.   Pop cherry tomatoes on the end of long toothpicks.

You could do this with any dip you want.  I almost went with a hummus, that would be great.  

Party Veggie Cups
8 oz clear plastic party tumblers (mine were about 3 1/2 inches high)
assorted colorful veggies:
asparagus
green beans
rainbow carrots
jicama
bell peppers
English (or Persian) cucumber
skinny green onions
sugar snap peas
cherry tomatoes to put on the end of long toothpicks
whatever else you like

  • Peel and slice the veggies into sticks.  Cut them to a length where they will just peek out from the tops of your cups when stacked.
  • For tough vegetables like the beans and asparagus,  plunge them in a pot of boiling salted water for about 30 seconds to a minute after it comes back to a boil.  Then put them directly into a bath of ice water to stop the cooking and retain their bright color.
  • Layer a little dip on the bottom of each cup.  Then arrange an grouping of vegetable sticks on top.  Keep cold and covered with a damp paper towel until ready to serve. 

Green Goddess Dip
1/3 cup parsley leaves
1/3 cup fresh dill fronds
1/3 cup tarragon leaves
1/3 cup chives
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup soft goat cheese
1-2 tsp anchovy paste (optional but I recommend it)
salt and fresh cracked black pepper

  • Rinse your herbs well and put them in the bowl of a small food processor.  Run the machine until the herbs are finely mined, scraping down the sides as you go to get all the herbs completely processed.  This is going to give your dip that lovely pale green color.
  • Add the lemon juice, garlic, and mayonnaise and continue processing until everything is blended well and there are no larger pieces of herbs left. You will still have to scrape down the sides.
  • Add the yogurt, sour cream, goat cheese and anchovy paste.  Process until blended.
  • Taste the dip, and add the salt and pepper.  Add extra lemon if needed. 

Notes:  If you prepare your vegetable sticks ahead of time, be sure to keep them wrapped in damp paper towels in the fridge or they will dry out.  Anchovy paste comes in a tube and lasts forever in the fridge.  It doesn’t taste ‘fishy’, and gives the dip a wonderful flavor. The paste and the tarragon are key to the Green Goddess experience.

Happy Fourth everyone!

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