This really is my most favorite pasta recipe: a little sweet and a little savory. Definitely “lick-the-plate-clean” good!
Best pasta ever…really…without spaghetti sauce.
A couple years back, a friend and I began exchanging vegetarian recipes as we tried them. The rules for this exchanges was that it could not just be any vegetarian recipes. It had to be only the ones that were incredible. The kind we would serve to company. The kind we would make again. And again. And again. This recipe, from blogger Iowagirleats, was one of those recipes. It has since become a staple in the Saville family home. As I was cooking it the other night I realized that this was likely a very kidney-friendly recipe – especially for CKD 3 and 4. I did a quick nutritional analysis on it, and found out that indeed, this would work for a CKD diet. For patients on dialysis you could add some chicken to bulk up the protein. It has a couple salty ingredients (kalamata olives and feta) but these are just used as a sprinkling on the top. The ingredients might seem just a little strange for pasta, but trust me on this, this recipe is incredible. The sweet of the Craisins combined with the salty of the kalamata olives and feta is fantastic. AND…this is a beautiful dish to serve with all its colors. We used whole wheat spaghetti, but you can use white spaghetti if that is your preference. White spaghetti has a little less potassium and phosphorus, but also has less fiber and other nutrients.
By far my favorite renal-friendly pasta dish. Who needs spaghetti sauce when you have this?!?
Other than omitting the extra added salt, I didn’t change anything about this recipe from the original. Here is the original recipe from Iowa Girl Eats.
Notes
If you are on dialysis, you can add some chicken to this recipe would to increase protein intake!
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The Best Pasta Ever….without tomato sauce
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
FEB 7 2019 – RECIPE IS UNDERGOING RENOVATION. NUTRITION INFO IS NOT CORRECT AT THIS TIME BUT WILL BE CORRECTED BY FEB 14 2019
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 small Red Onion (minced)
- 1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
- 4 cups Kale, fresh (torn or thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup Water
- 4 oz, dry Spaghetti Noodles (Choose white or wheat noodles. Potassium and phosphorus content differs in these two products.)
- 1/4 cup, sliced and pitted Kalamata Olives
- 2 Tbsp, crumbled Feta Cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic slices then cook, stirring near constantly, until slices are pale golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium then add red onion. Season with salt and pepper then cook until golden-brown and tender, about 3 minutes. Add cranberries and kale, season with more salt and pepper, then add water, place a lid on top of the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until kale is tender.
- Add spaghetti to a large pot of salted, boiling water then cook until al dente.
- Add kalamata olives to cooked kale and cranberry mixture. Transfer cooked spaghetti to skillet then toss to combine all ingredients. Add up to 1/4 cup pasta cooking water if needed. Divide between two plates then top with 1 Tablespoon feta cheese and half the cooked garlic slices each.
KidneyGrub Verdict:
I’ve already stated that I love this dish – really really really love this dish. I thought it would probably work for a renal diet when I was cooking it the other night and once I did the nutrient analysis I was happy to see, that indeed it is something I could recommend to my patients.
Article Credit: Jessianna Saville, MS, RDN, LD, CSR
Photo Credits: Rebecca Barksdale
This pasta look much tasty. Will cook soon after buying some ingredients.
I’m afraid I’m still looking for a sauce for my hubby. The kale is out, since he’s also on warfarin. *sigh*
Hi Cynthia,
You could try without the kale. Yo It doesn’t add an enormous amount to the flavor, other than a little bit of bitter taste. Pasta with a butter garlic sauce or olive oil – garlic sauce would work for you.
The other thing to note with warfarin is that”greens” shouldn’t necessarily be restricted. They just need to be kept at a relatively consistent amount. Why? Vitamin K (high in greens) impacts the warfarin dose. However, if your husband is getting regular check-ups, then they should adjust for dietary Vitamin K intake. So if he ate a little bit of spinach or collards or kale or whatever everyday, his dose would be adjusted correctly. Most often patients are just educated to “don’t eat any greens,” when in fact this is not true. You can eat greens, but just don’t eat a huge amount 1 day and then none the other days. If greens are a regular part of your diet and eating consistently throughout the week it is no problem. Here is a great article that goes more in-depth on the topic:http://www.clotcare.com/vitaminkandwarfarin.aspx. Of course, you would always want to discuss with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet while on warfarin.
So what is the correct potassium & phosphorus count- I see two!
Hi Susan,
Thank you for catching that! We recently updated all our recipes and nutrition information because our recipe program was dropping potassium and phosphorus. The correct amount is what is in the “nutrition facts” label. All the best and thank you again!
Where is the nutrition information? I am unable to see it. Thank you.
This was delicious- and you can buy potassium free pasta at Whole Foods- making this recipe even better- I did not add any salt to this recipe and it turned out great.
★★★★★
Hi Brenice, we’re so glad that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing that it was perfect even without the salt!