This is such a fantastic all-in-one meal that is ready in under 30 minutes. I never thought to try black beans with Italian style pasta but after eating it at a nutrition conference I realised it totally works. I have made this dish 3 times, each time changing the green vegetable or the type of cheese and everyone has loved it. A lot of people have cut out pasta thinking it is bad for your health and your waistline. But pasta actually contains fibre and resistant starch that feed our gut bacteria. Also, this pasta dish is loaded with vegetables, beans and nuts which add extra fibre and protein which helps lessen the GI of the meal. 

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Ingredients: Makes 4-6 serves

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• 2 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced

• 2 medium zucchinis, diced or 1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets

• ¼–½ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 250 grams whole wheat penne or other similar pasta (I used Casarecce in the photo above)

• 400 grams tinned black beans

• 1 eschalot (shallot in the US) finely sliced

• 1 tsp dried Oregano

• ½ tsp Chili flakes

• ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

• Salt and Ground black pepper to taste.

• ¼–½ cup grated Parmesan cheese or 150 grams of feta (optional)

 

Directions

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1. Preheat oven to 200°C/ 400°F 

2. On a cookie sheet toss sweet potatoes and zucchini (or broccoli) with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and roast on separate baking sheets until fork tender, approximately 20 to 30 minutes

3. Boil the pasta and drain.

4. Drain and rinse beans.

5. In a large bowl, mix together the pasta, beans, vegetables, eschalot and herbs

6. Toss with remaining olive oil and season to taste.

7. Top with Parmesan or crumbled feta and pine nuts.