I really like making pasta, but I've found that most of my recipes have these sorts of ingredients:
- Pale yellow pasta
- Brown mushrooms
- Brown tempeh or tofu (or ground beef if you prefer)
- Spices that make things even more brown (generally allspice, garlic, oregano, and thyme)
What I noticed is that it always ends up all brown. It tastes great, but I'd like to make things more exciting looking. Obviously I could add tomato sauce, but I'm not always in the mood for that. The other ideas I have a spinach or basil. I'll probably start adding some spinach, but basil is pretty expensive here.
Is there anything else I can add to my pasta to add different colors? Cheap is definitely a plus in this case, but any ideas would be interesting (there's always special occasions).
Best Answer
For cooking in with the pasta, consider red or yellow bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower or other vegetables that hold their color well when heated. Also, you can help this problem a lot with good, flavorful, beautiful garnishes. Even a simple shower of minced parsley goes a long way. Lemon or orange zest is nice too.
Check out this peppery red-wine capellini from my blog, you'll see how the quick, fresh garnish of cherry tomatoes and parsley turns a brown pasta bright (and maybe learn a new way to cook pasta too).