Participating in Blazing Hot Wok's Regional Recipes - Spain has got me thinking about the flavours of Spain - sweet bellpeppers, juicy tomatoes, tangy olives. And so, with that in mind, I threw a couple of ingredients together and came up with this pasta dish, which has, what I'd like to think of as a bit of a Spanish flavour.
I might be completely off the beaten track here, but let's indulge me okay? And besides, I can't think of a better name for this one. So Spaghetti 'a la Espanola' it is!
I might be completely off the beaten track here, but let's indulge me okay? And besides, I can't think of a better name for this one. So Spaghetti 'a la Espanola' it is!
Spaghetti 'a la Espanola'
Serves 4 - 5
1 medium aubergine, chopped into small cubes1 small greenpepper, chopped into small cubes1 medium onion, finely diced1 tbsp olive oila dash of salt and a grinding of black pepper
1/2 cup red split lentils3/4 cup water1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes, Spanish style*
1 tsp olive oil250g extra-lean bacon, finely diced1 1/2 tsp minced garlic1 tbsp paprika1/4 tsp chilli powder65g pitted green olives, halved
300g spaghetti
*if you don't have this where you live, just use a regular tin of tomatoes and up the other spices
1. Arrange eggplant, greenpepper and onion on a baking tray. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and massage through to combine. Place in oven at 180C and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.2. Meanwhile, put the lentils into a microwaveable container. Add the tomatoes and a cup of water, mix to combine everything and microwave on high for 20 minutes.3. Place spaghetti in a pot of boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes.4. In a seperate frying pan, heat 1 tsp of oil. Add bacon and fry for about 5 - 6 minutes until browned and crispy. Add garlic, fry for another minute, then add eggplant mixture as well as the lentil mixture. Add enough water to loosen the sauce (1/2 - 1 cup). Add paprika and chilli, as well as the green olives. Cook for about 2 minutes to combine flavours and heat through. Serve, spooned onto the spaghetti.
Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 429.1, Total fat 9.3 g, Saturated fat 1.4 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.4 g, Monounsaturated fat 3.9 g, Cholesterol 41.6 mg, Sodium 708.6 mg, Potassium 544.8 mg, Total carbohydrates 63.2 g, Dietary fiber 8.1 g, Sugars 1.2 g, Protein 24.2 g, GI 37 (low)
Good source of: Vitamin C 27.3 %, Selenium 19.2 %, Folate 12.9 %, Manganese 12. 6 %
2 comments:
Oh Mamma Mia - this looks wonderful. Have you heard of "Meat free Monday"? - it's a food campaign to encourage the nation to help slow climate change by reducing their meat consumption by having at least one meat free day a week. Without the bacon, this would be prefect for that!
Check it out: http://www.supportmfm.org/index.php
I think it's a great idea - thanks for the link! I try to plan 2 - 3 vegetarian meals a week - it's better for our health as well. Good to know that there are other people doing the same.
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