Peanut Sauce Pasta w/ Tons of Veggies!

My stomach was growling all through bar prep class and instead of focusing on torts review, I kept thinking about what to eat tonight. My better half is traveling, again, so I will be cooking for one tonight. However, that does not mean I can't still eat well! I have been trying to eat more greens and cooking it in ways that incorporates lots of it but still tasting ridiculously yummy. Peter will eat any vegetable, even the ones he hates, as long as I top it off with peanut sauce. But since it's Friday night, I'm adding white wine to it and drinking a glass with dinner also. :) So here it goes...

Feel free to play around with the recipe. I used these vegetables because I had it in my fridge from a recent trip to an Asian market but if you have other greens and roots - use it! I used chicken, again, because I had it but if you wanna' use beef or salmon, go for it. However, I don't recommend white fish like tilapia because it is way too delicate and flaky and will not hold well.

The whole recipe takes less than 10 minutes to cook on med-high heat and about 7 minutes to prepare. Enjoy!!!



Shallots. Slice them. Then mince about half of what you sliced. Remember to have your thumb on the blade when you're chopping because this will give you maximum control over your knife.





I love fresh spinach. Frozen ones are good too but fresh spinach is just extra delicious. Make sure you rinse it well then drain it. No chopping involved.



Halves the carrots times two (quarter it, and in other words, could dice them if you like). Then cut it in half into about 1.5 inches in length. Now put the chopped carrots in the microwave and allow it to nuke for about a minute. This will help it cook faster. BTW, I am against skinning carrots.





Yay, Napa! Peel a few, set them on top of each other, and slice it.





Eggplant. Peter hates this thing but he will eat it, all of it, without issue, as long as I cook it in peanut sauce. Same deal, I like to dice, so slice, layer it, then dice them!







Chives. I love this guy also. I usually add it in my spring rolls. Tastes great raw or cooked. Just clean it well and chop it up.





Apple. Yes. Trust me, adding some apple will give the sauce a nice sweetness and texture without the need to add sugar. Slice thinly, layer, slice into shoestrings, and then dice it!





Of course, we're going to need a couple of red Thai chili peppers. Chop them up nice and fine.



Chicken. Dice them also. You get the drift.



Add some oil to your pan. Turn the heat up to a med-high. I turned mine up to a 7.



Wait until the oil is hot then throw in the shallots, both the sliced and diced. Stir a bit.



Add in the chicken. Stir it a bit. Then add a dollop of hoisin sauce. Stir it a bit. See the nice brown color?







Add carrots and eggplants. Stir.



Add chives and napa. Stir.



Add a cup of water.



Add white wine. About a cup is good.



Now add the spinach. I saved it for last because I don't like super cooked spinach. Spinach only takes 1-2 minutes to cook in hot a pan like this.



Fun part time. Add about 3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce and about 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter. I like the extra chunky kind but feel free to use whichever kind you prefer. Also adjust as you go - you might want to add more of either the hoisin or the PB depending on how you like it.



Throw it the diced apples. Cook for a few minutes, take off heat, serve over pasta.



I did not feel the need to show you how I cooked my pasta but just imagine that I did... I like to mix different types of pasta to entertain Peter. :) I used all wheat BTW.



Voila! How yummy does that look?! It's also healthy (notice the theme). I rarely add extra seasoning such as salt and sugar when I am cooking with sauces but of course adjust the recipe to your liking.