168-Calorie Mushroom 'Pasta'?

Well, no, it's not pasta. But it's a nice alternative.

It's a meat-like mushroom ragu, made just the way Italian meat sauce is made, served over steamed red peppers cut into strips to remind you of pasta.

Me, I find it's the sauce-y part that makes me feel I'm eating pasta, not the pasta part.


Mushroom Ragu

Saute in 1 T. olive oil:

1 medium onion, chopped fine.

When translucent, add in batches:

10 oz. mushrooms, chopped fine.

When the mushrooms are tender, add:

1 t. garlic,
2/3 cup packaged eggplant caponata (or other lower-fat Italian vegetable mix),
1/2 c. chicken broth,
2 T. tomato paste,
1 t. pepper.

Heat until the flavors meld. Then mix in:

1 t. butter sprinkles ('Butter Buds' or similar brand).

This makes about 2 cups with only 430 calories in the whole thing.

A single half-cup serving contains (by my math):

107 calories, 2.7 g. protein, 7 g. fat, .5 g. saturated fat.


A nice way to serve it is to steam some strips of red bell pepper or zucchini. Also heat 1/2 c. frozen spinach in a small amount of fat-free chicken broth. Salt these both to taste.

Place the vegetables in a bowl, top with 1/2 c. of the ragu, then sprinkle with 1 T. parmesan cheese.

The whole thing is only 168 calories!

At that rate, there's even room for desert.

--E. R. O'Neill