Capellini Aglio e Olio with Zucchini, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms

Daphne from More than Words (selected from random.org) has won the recent giveaway held at my blog. Congrats, gal!

What can you do with a packet of steamed vegetables? Marry them with salmon or cod. Or truly, create a light, refreshing and delicious summer-worthy pasta dish.

The post about The Magic of Parchment Cooking first appeared at Basil Magazine June 2011 Issue

Better still? 10 minutes, or no more than 15 minutes - that's all you need. No more than 15 minutes, if you are up to professional lightning speed when cutting/slicing all the vegetables. But well...P-L-A-N-N-I-N-G.


Also...if you could do the veg. prep. on a Sunday evening night, wrap them up properly, store in the fridge; come Monday, 10 minutes and you get this.


10 minutes to steam (and cook) the envelope of vegetables and simultaneously cook the pasta in another pot.

Parchment steamed vegetables - Way to go! No doubt, this has been my regular go-to cooking method for vegetables since early this year. Why haven't I done (or discover this) earlier? Beats me.

Zucchini, Bell Peppers Capellini (Angel Hair) Aglio e Olio
Ingredients: zucchini, carrots, red bell peppers all to be thinly sliced to matchsticks; handful of tree oyster mushrooms (Note: I chose this as I don't have to do additional slicing if they were shitake. Brown or white beech mushroom should work too); 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced; handfuls of cilantro, finely chopped, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil; 2 tbsps water (Note1: I wanted some (more) liquid to "moisten up" my pasta when dressed) ; salt and ground white pepper to taste; cooked pasta

Directions: Add the vegetables, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, water into the parchment paper, toss well to combine, and seal the parchment into an envelope (Note2: This is the base for my Aglio e Olio "dressing", so called). Steam veggies for 8-10 mins, at the same time, cook the pasta. When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside in serving bowls. After the vegetables are cooked - unwrap then pinch of sea salt and pepper to taste. Pour all the vegetables (together with the liquid) into the pasta, toss to combine thoroughly.

It is really that easy and in no way less tasty. The dish completed with a balance of textures and fresh light flavors.


As Angel Hair - Capellini was my choice for the day, the julienne of vegetable complements the thin strands of pasta really well. Don't ask me which happen first - selecting the pasta type -OR- deciding to spend time slicing the veggies to matchsticks. What happens first for you?

I am sharing this with June $20 Budget Meal - Specific Ingredient is "Noodle", hosted by Ellena at Cuisine Paradise. The cost of my meal (serves 2) is mainly organic zucchini ($0.90), organic carrots($0.30), organic red bell peppers($1.20), handful of tree oyster mushrooms ($2.00), pasta ($1.00) , miscellaneous items - garlic, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil ($0.30) = USD5.70.



Also sharing this with Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Simona at Briciole and Hearth and Soul.

Try the other Parchment-Cooking recipes that include Steamed fresh fava beans, Salmon en Papillote, Steamed arugula.

Tag: aglio e olio, pasta, vegetarian

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