Veggie Pizza Pasta

That sounds gross, reading it now, but it's the best way to describe it... It's all veggie - vegan, even, if you don't do dairy - but it tastes like delicious pizza.

It's sort-of a ripoff of Nopa's baked runner beans but super fast & easy. Still, you should go to Nopa and have the baked runner beans (or whichever beans they might be using). It's ah-MAY-zing.

Anywho...

• 1 can drained & rinsed cannellini beans
• 1/2 package of brown rice penne pasta (or whole wheat - but I think the brown rice is better)
• Bag o' washed spinach or whatever greens you like
• 1/2 jar (or small jar) tomato sauce of your choice (enough to be saucy, but not soupy)
• A chopped orange or yellow bell pepper (or green, if you like - I can't stand the green ones)
• 1-2 cloves crushed garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder if that's all you have handy)
• A shit ton of oregano
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• Scant salt & pepper
• 1 tbs canola or other veggie oil
• Wee drizzle of olive oil

Git yerself a good, seasoned cast iron pan - seriously - so much better. But any good-sized skillet will do. Heat that sucker on medium for a few minutes til it's nice & hot. On another burner, set up a pasta pot full of water to cook the pasta.

Add the canola oil to the skillet then throw in the cannellini beans. Hopefully the pasta water is boiling by this point so you can cook the pasta at the same time while toasting the beans. Toast the beans for 8-10 minutes - enough to get some color. The pasta should take 7-8 minutes but check the package.

When the beans are toasted , add the spinach to the skillet - it will wilt very quickly - then throw in the onion powder and the garlic til it just starts to become fragrant (if using garlic powder, throw that in now). If using kale or other hearty greens, it'll need about 7-10 minutes to wilt, so you'll want to start the skillet before the pasta... Once the greens are wilted, add the tomato sauce, peppers and oregano. Let all that simmer together for a few minutes.

If the pasta finishes before the skillet stuff, drain it and reserve the cooking water and set aside. If it's done at about the same time, use a Joyce Chen strainer to ladle/drain the pasta & dump directly from pot to skillet - love this tool & use it all the time.

After the skillet stuff has simmered together for a few minutes, add the pasta to the skillet and if it's not saucy enough, add some of the cooking water - the starch in the water from the pasta will help tighten up the whole thing.

Turn off the heat, add a little more oregano, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top & season to taste. Serves at least two - probably four if we're watching our portions. ;)

If you eat cheese, add about a 1/2 cup grated mozzarella off heat and enjoy.

Chicken & Penne

All cooked together in the same pan - about 20 min start to finish.

Ingredients: [tsp = teaspoon, Tbs = tablespoon]

• 2 frozen Costco or fresh chicken breasts
  
• 1-2 Tbs sesame, canola or peanut oil
  
• 1-2 Tbs fresh-ground pepper (or however much you like)
• 1-2 Tbs thyme
• 1/2-1c water
• 1/4-1/2c white wine (optional)
• 1-2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1-1 1/2 cups penne pasta, or as much as will fit around the chicken, level in the pan - it shouldn't pile over/above the chicken.
  
• 1 Tbs reduced chicken stock or 1/2 bouillon cube
• 1-2 Tbs capers
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
  

1. Get a large skillet w/ a lid - preheat for a few minutes on med/med-high. When the pan is hot, use 1-2Tbs high-smoke-point oil like sesame, canola or peanut (olive oil burns too easily, add it at the end).
2. Brown the chicken, about 3 min per side or long enough to get some color - cook until almost done (season however you like - I used pepper & thyme - salt came from added stock later but if not using stock or bouillon, season chicken with salt).
3. Add a small amt. of liquid to the pan if it's starting to burn (lemon juice, water, and/or white wine or combo of all three) - just enough to keep the pan from burning but not too much to inhibit caramelization.
4. Before chicken is fully cooked, add about 1 cup water, 1/2 c white wine and if you like, 1Tb concentrated chicken stock or a half cube of non-MSG bouillon - it adds good flavah.
5. Bring liquid to boil.
6. Add a few handfuls of penne to surround chicken in the pan - not too much, making sure pasta is just covered (or almost) by liquid in the pan.
7. Pop on the lid & turn it down to low & simmer for as long as the package says to cook the penne (it won't be enough - read on).
8. When the timer goes off, check the penne - it should still be slightly undone. Using forks, shred the chicken in the pan then give it all a good stir. Check the amount of liquid - add a little water if the pan's looking dry (about 1/4 cup or so). If you want to add in vegetables, now's the time to do it - chopped asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, red & yellow peppers - whatever you like. (David hates vegetables, so I cook/add mine separately.)
9. Pop the lid back on for about 5 minutes.
10. When the penne's done, take off heat & finish with capers & 1-2Tb olive oil and a pinch of the fresh herbs you started with. Taste for seasoning & add salt at the end if necessary.

Serve with fresh ground pepper and parmigiano-reggianoif you eat that sort of dairy.

Can be made & refrigerated for a cold chicken pasta salad. For cold salad, add fresh seasonal vegetables & a little extra olive oil when tossing to serve.