Thai Peanut Linguine Recipe -

This Thai Peanut Linguine is one of the recipes I taught at the Love To Cook store at the Newgate Mall. The class was on Easy Entrees, and I tried to whittle down all of the steps so that they were nearly effortless, without sacrificing flavor. I did four dishes in 90 minutes — Chicken Cacciatore (from my Soup’s On! cookbook), Sweet Chili Pork Chops, Maple-Pecan Crusted Salmon with Roasted Asparagus, and Thai Peanut Linguine.

My friend Janet Thaeler snapped this shot of me. Do I look like I know what I’m doing? This shows the view from the overhead mirrors, which I forget are there most of the time.

The Thai Peanut Linguine was the fastest of the bunch — about 10 minutes from start to finish, and the only prep work involved was slicing a red bell pepper and some fresh spinach, and mincing cilantro.

It’s also open to a lot of variations, depending on what you have in your fridge. I did it as a vegetarian dish today, but you could add chopped cooked chicken for meat lovers. And you can add other veggies — mushrooms, diced zucchini, sliced or shredded carrots, broccoli florets. Just about anything that’s good as a stir-fry could be added. Some of the folks in the class suggested topping it with peanuts for some added crunch.

My recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. I didn’t add as much during the class because I didn’t want it to be too hot for the class members. If it tastes too tame for your taste buds, you can always turn up the heat by stirring in more pepper flakes or adding hot sauce.

Here’s the recipe.

THAI PEANUT LINGUINI WITH SPINACH & CILANTRO (VEGETARIAN)

3 cans (or 48 ounce box) vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 cup pineapple juice

1 pound dried linguini

1 large red bell pepper

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 cups snap peas or snow peas

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more if desired

1 cup sliced fresh spinach

Heat chicken broth and pineapple juice in a pot to boiling. Add linguini and cook 5-6 minutes, or until linguini begins to soften.

Meanwhile, slice bell pepper in thin slices and add to the pot. Stir in the peanut butter and soy sauce until well-mixed, and turn the heat to medium-low.

Chop the cilantro and add to the linguini along with the garlic, snow peas and red pepper flakes. Let the linguini simmer for a few minutes while you slice the fresh spinach (or you may add it whole if desired). The pasta should be tender but not too soggy, or “al dente.” Stir in the spinach just before serving.

Options: Other veggies can be added such as shredded or thinly sliced carrots, broccoli florets, or a cole slaw mix of cabbage and carrots.

— Valerie Phillips

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