Pasta is best when it isn’t drowning in sauce. A rule of thumb for a light coating is two cups of pasta sauce per pound of pasta. Here are just a few light ideas for pasta sauces culled from a variety of new, lighter cuisine cookbooks: lemon-asparagus sauce, white bean sauce, light tomato sauce with chickpeas, roasted garlic and broccoli puree, artichoke and sun-dried tomato sauce, zucchini and mint sauce, spicy spinach and lentil sauce, roasted pumpkin and sage sauce…the options are limited only by imagination.
Tomato sauce is among the most popular pasta toppings. You can make a delicious Southwestern sauce simply by blending the following ingredients until smooth:
1 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 teaspoons of sugar
6 oil packed, sun-dried tomatoes, drained, rinsed and coarsely chopped
2 or 3 chopped jalapeno peppers (reduce the amount for milder flavor)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil.
This sauce is great for leftover pasta or as a quick pizza sauce. It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Or, try a flavorful ricotta sauce with fettuccine. In a blender or processor, combine one-half cup part-skim ricotta cheese, three tablespoons skim milk, one-and-a-half ounces of walnuts, one-and-a-half tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, one-half teaspoon dried marjoram and one garlic clove. Mix until smooth, toss with freshly cooked and drained pasta, and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper to taste.
