PR Pasta

With increase in weekly mileage, I am beginning to crave carbs. Thankfully, weight gain is not a problem anymore (and if I do gain a few pounds, I can chalk it up to muscle mass), so I can gorge to my heart's content. My plan is to add to my menu, a different post-run meal each week, with pasta as a main ingredient.

Accordingly, I cooked up a storm today; in addition to the standard fare (traditional South Indian sambhar, beans poriyal and cabbage poriyal), I concocted a pasta dish (Chef Dangler's PR Pasta, per November 2008 issue of Runner's World) and several servings of chicken noodle soup, which I can freeze for future use.

Well, not exactly the aesthetic appeal I was aiming for, but DH proclaimed it edible and licked his platter clean, so I'm not too disappointed.

3 hours in the kitchen...whew! That is a record for me...and one I hope I will not break in the near future!

Here's the recipe with my twist, in case you would like to repeat my performance:

Pesto:

5 ounces fresh basil; 3 cloves garlic, peeled; 2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted; 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated; 2 tbsp olive oil

Bell-pepper coulis:

1 12 ounce jar raosted peppers, drained; 1/4 cup water; 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 tsp jarred grated horse radish; 1 pinch sugar; Salt & pepper to taste

Pasta:

4 chicken breasts, cut into pieces; 2 tbsp EVOO; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 3/4 cup cooking wine; 1 16-ounce box of rotelle pasta, cooked; 1 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds; 1 tbsp basil, sliced into thin strips; 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Pesto: Place all ingredients in food processor and puree.

Bell-pepper coulis: Puree all ingredients in blender. Warm coulis in saucepan. Place in pasta bowl.

Pasta: Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Heat oil in a skillet. Add chicken and minced garlic and cook through. Add white wine, scraping pan to loosen any brown bits; simmer to reduce liquid by half. Add 5 tbsp pesto. Toss pasta with sauce. Add toasted sunflower seeds, basil, and grated Parmesan. Place pasta into bowl over coulis. Serves 4.

Chef James Dangler's original recipe is meant to be a pre-race carb-loading meal and has 760 calories per serving.

Carbs: 92 g Protein: 46 g Fat 19 g

My less-glorious meal has about 1/2 the calorie content (I halved the portions because we felt stuffed after half a serving each), less chicken and olive oil. We'll be eating this dish for a looong time!