Simple Eating: Al Dente Brown Rice Quinoa Pasta with Oil and Garlic
Even though my Daniel Fast is finished (read more about it here), I still wanted to incorporate the healthy eating habits I learned during my six weeks of fasting. One thing I've definitely incorporated into my clean eating routine is to cook more. As a college student, it can be difficult to find time to prep and cook. However, I've managed to schedule out some time to make sure that I can make a few decent meals throughout the week. One thing that's super simple to make is pasta. After doing some research on recipes, I decided to ask my older brother, Miguel. Out of the two of us, he's definitely the one who inherited the cooking gene that runs in my family. He can make almost anything and it ALWAYS tastes amazing ! I absolutely admire him for that and wish so badly that cooking came just as easy for me. I'm trying though, so maybe I'll get there one day ! :)
So when I asked him for a recipe, he gave me step by step instructions on how he makes his pasta. I edited his recipe a bit and simplified it, making this Brown Rice Quinoa Pasta with Oil and Garlic recipe .
Coincidentally, I found a lot of recipes like the one I came up with, so I'm not gonna write that it was my own creation or anything. Either way, this recipe is simple, light, and delicious !
Take a look below at the step-by-step instructions and pictures to see how I made this dish. :)
Ingredients:
- One pack of uncooked brown rice quinoa pasta (I got mine at Trader Joe's for $2 or so)
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced (Depending on how much garlic flavor you want)
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- Basil leaves
- Parsley flakes
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
Step-by-Step Instructions with Pictures
- Start off by filling a large pot with water and light salt, bringing it to a roaring boil. Place pasta in the pot and cook for 7-10 minutes
- To cook the pasta al dente, twirl the noodles with tongs to separates them. Wait five minutes and do a taste test. Pasta should be firm to the bite, but not crunchy. Add additional cooking minutes if needed.
- When finished, drain pasta using a colander and let it sit.
- In the meantime, heat pan on stove and add 1/4 cup of olive oil
- As you wait for the pan to hear, finely mince 3-5 cloves of garlic
- Once pan is heated enough, add garlic and let it simmer, mixing the oil and garlic often. Make sure garlic doesn't brown otherwise it'll taste very bitter.
- Once some of the garlic pieces reach a yellow color, add pasta and mix it with the oil and garlic.
- Add basil leaves and parsley flakes to pasta and mix well. Make sure to mix often so noodles are coated evenly.
- Remove from heat, serve, and add Parmesan cheese to taste.
Tips:
- If you want to add chicken or shrimp to this, you can. I haven't eaten meat since last November, so I didn't add any meat protein to the recipe as my own personal choice.
- You can use whole wheat pasta for this recipe. I opted for the brown rice quinoa pasta because although it's filling, I don't feel as heavy as I would eating whole wheat pasta.
- You can also add pepper flakes to this recipe to add some kick, throwing them in when you add the minced garlic to the oil.
Hope you guys enjoyed this recipe and try it out sometime. It's super easy, quick, and very tasty ! Shout out to M.J. Dadulla Media for helping me with this post and taking the gorgeous pictures of my cooking session. You rock, Mel ! :)
Eat well, loves ! Xo