Monday, May 18, 2020

Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta by Maya Corrigan + #Giveaway


Like many people under stay-at-home orders, I raid my pantry for dinner ingredients in order to postpone food shopping. I'm sharing a quick and easy pasta recipe made with pantry ingredients. I suggest other ingredients you can substitute if you don't have the ones in the recipe. Combined with a salad, the pasta makes a healthy, hearty meal.

To enter a drawing for some cozy mystery goodies, scroll down and comment on your favorite pasta. 

This recipe includes chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans, which are full of protein and fiber. You can easily substitute other beans that you might have in your pantry. Likewise, you can substitute zucchini or another vegetable for artichoke hearts. My husband is an artichoke lover, so I always have some in the pantry, but not everyone does.

I've listed ranges in the amount of ingredients to use. Make your choice, depending on your tastes. For example, I like beans in moderation so I'd use only part of a can of them.

Ingredients

12 ounces of penne or other pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped fine
14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, including juice, or tomato sauce
8-10 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (or substitute fresh zucchini cut in 1/4-inch rounds)
12-16 ounces garbanzo or other beans, drained
4-6 ounces Kalamata olives, halved if large
3-4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled


I forgot to add the olive oil to the ingredients photo, but I didn't forget it when I made the recipe. 😥

Boil the water for the pasta and cook it while you follow the steps for the sauce.

Heat the oil in a large skillet (10-12 inches) over medium heat. Add the garlic so that it softens. Don't let the oil get so hot that the garlic turns brown. 

Add the quartered artichoke hearts (or zucchini rounds). Saute in the oil and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with juice and the drained beans. Cook until the mixture is hot. 

Drain the pasta, reserving a half cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet and mix it with the other ingredients. Add as much of the pasta water as you'd like so that the sauce is the consistency you want. Add the olives and simmer the pasta and sauce at low heat just long enough to warm the olives. Then sprinkle on the feta cheese and serve the pasta.

Serves 4.








Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan combines her passion for food and detection in her Five-Ingredient Mysteries featuring a café manager and her live-wire grandfather, who solve murders in a historic town near the Chesapeake Bay. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad’s five-ingredient recipes. Maya previously taught college courses in writing, literature, and detective fiction. Visit her website for book news, five-ingredient recipes, mystery trivia, and a free culinary mystery story.

Maya Corrigan's Five-Ingredient Mysteries

The seventh book in the series, Gingerdead Man, comes out in September 2020 and is available now for pre-order from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.



What's your favorite pasta dish? Leave a comment and include your e-mail address by May 21 to enter a drawing for cozy mystery grab bag items. 
(Sorry, I can only send the goodies to a U.S. address. Sending elsewhere would mean a trip to the post office, which I'm avoiding until it's safer.)

Here's what you'll receive:
  • A 24-page booklet, READ MORE COZIES, highlighting new and upcoming cozy mysteries
  • A booklet of culinary mystery trivia
  • A recipe for an easy five-ingredient sweet
  • A Tell-Tale Tarte magnet 








48 comments:

  1. My favorite pasta dish is shrimp fra diavolo. Thanks for the chance!
    Jess
    maceoindo at yahoo dot com

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Jess. Shrimp fra diavolo is yummy.

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  3. my favorite pasta is rigatoni with italian sausage, ricotta & spinach flavored with a little butter & garlic. Yum. name is janet @ westsubconsult@gmail.com. Your pasta dish looks wonderful. Gonna try it.

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    1. Hi Janet, Thank you for commenting. That pasta sounds delicious!

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  4. welcome. ohh, thank you for sharing your recipe. i cant do pasta anymore, but i love spaghetti with my moms recipe for spaghetti sauce. I just made a mac and cheese with cauliflower instead of pasta and it is delicious. quilting lady 2 at comcast dot net

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    1. Hi Lori, I'm always looking for cauliflower recipes. I'm going to try mac and cheese with cauliflower. Thank you for commenting.
      ~Maya

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  5. My favorite pasta dish is pasta primavera. Especially tasty during the hot summer months. Thanks for your lovely feature and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thank you for your comment. Pasta primavera with fresh summer vegetables is one of my favorites too.

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  6. Your vegetarian pasta is just what I enjoy. Perfect. I love pasta with pesto and tomatoes, zucchini and artichokes. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Thank you for your comment. We make a lot of pesto each summer and freeze containers of it to use throughout the year. Your pasta has a great combination of ingredients.

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  7. my fav pasta dish is seafood pasta with scallops and shrimp and we make it with a thin noodle. I love everything in the dish that was made and like that you can save it. peggy clayton ptclayton2 at aol.com

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    1. Hi Peggy, Seafood pasta is one of my favorites too. Thank you for commenting.

      Delete
  8. I like any pasta but my favorite is probably manicotti or ravioli. Thanks for sharing your recipe. It sounds good and I'm always looking for new pasta dishes to try.
    kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Alicia. I order manicotti when I eat out, but I've never tried to make it at home.

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  10. My favorite is Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Chickpea Pasta

    irbratb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  11. My favorite pasta dish is ravaloi lasagna with meat sauce.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. I love rigatoni in an alfredo sauce with either shrimp or chicken! tWarner419@aol.com

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  13. Love the kitchen cupboard creativity!
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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  14. My favorite dish is cannelloni.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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  15. Pasta is always a delicious meal choice. I think our favorite is spaghetti with meat sauce, although we also adore lasagna.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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    1. Hi Nancy. Thank you for commenting. Pasta with meat sauce and lasagna are some of my favorites too.

      Delete
  16. I love baked pasta with sausage, mushrooms, and sauce. It even works with gluten free pasta! Thanks for a chance to win. ljbonkoski@yahoo.com

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  17. Lasagna is my all time favorite. It is how I judge the quality of Italian restaurants we visit. I have other quick favorites that take no time to throw together, but for the quality and complexity of the dish, lasagna is first on the list.
    library pat AT com cast DOT net

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    1. Hi Pat, I agree with you that ordering lasagna is a good way to test the food at an Italian restaurant. Thank you for commenting.

      Delete
  18. I love any pasta. When I was sick this summer I enjoyed mac and cheese.

    kaye.killgore(at)comcast(dot)net

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  19. I like spaghetti with meat sauce. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  20. I love all kinds of pasta and eat it 2-3 times a week.. My all time favorite is spaghetti marinara. mhernandez209@cox.net

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  21. Clever way to use up pantry ingredients! I never met a pasta dish I didn't like. Some favorites are lasagna, cannelloni, manicotti, stuffed shells, meatballs (or meat sauce) & spaghetti, pasta with seafood. My list is endless. lola777_22 at hotmail dot com

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    1. Thanks for your comment. It's amazing how many ways there are to make a great pasta dish.

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  22. Goulash is my favorite pasta dish. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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  23. I have always liked raviolis! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com

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  24. Lasagna is usually my favorite, but I love your recipe! Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Kara. I love Lasagna too.

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  25. love rigatoni or egg noodles. nice give away...................lunalola5151@gmai.com

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  26. My favorite is chicken alfredo. My email is booksnpugs(at)gmail(dot)com

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  27. Does lasagna count? My go-to at my fave Italian restaurant is penne a la vodka with shrimp — when I am not craving lasagna. pamela.g.brown@gmail.com

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  28. I love pasta. Alfredo sauce with seafood is my favorite. Shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab. Okay, now I'm hungry! kkcochran (at) hotmail (dot) com

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    1. Hi Kristin, You've made me hungry too! Thanks for commenting.

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  29. My favorite is lasagna.Would love to win.Thank you for the chance

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  30. This sounds Wonderful... leave out the dairy & I'm in! I love most any pasta with a ton of veggies- Yum! Great post by the way.
    Cheers-
    Kelly Braun
    Gaelicark(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  31. I love all pasta but my all time favorite is Alfredo, love me some creme sauce 😊
    Thank you,
    Holly
    hokey228@yahoo.com

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  32. Scrolling through, I notice I'm not the only one who loves all pastas, but if I have to choose one it's good old mac and cheese! marthajane758@gmail.com

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I enjoy all kinds of pasta, even squid ink pasta, which is black. Maybe I'll share a recipe for that around Halloween.

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  33. I love all pasta dishes, but plain old spaghetti with marinara sauce is my favorite. I have read all your books and really enjoyed them.
    clugston.kathy@yahoo.com

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    1. Hi Kathy, Thank you for your comment! I love hearing that a reader enjoyed my books. You made my day. :-)

      Delete
  34. We have a winner! Sharon B will get the cozy mystery goodies. I'll have another giveaway (maybe two) in June. Everyone, please have a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend! ~Maya

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