Spring is in the air!

Let’s take stock of what’s in your pantry or fridge right now.  Before you run out to the grocery store to make dinner tonight, use what you have already as it not only saves money, but allows you to use perfectly healthy foods that might otherwise be thrown away.  Plus, I am all about using the least amount of ingredients in a recipe to keep it simple, inexpensive and healthy.

Today I am going to use: tri-color rotini, eggs, extra-virgin olive oil + a couple of herbs and spices to add flavor.

Egg yolks are all the craze now in culinary circles.  You can shave them into salads, slice them into casseroles and mix them into sauces. Yes, they are the fatty part of the egg, but they are packed with antioxidants (namely lutein and zeaxanthin, which are both great for eye health, btw!)

It’s super simple to hard-boil eggs, too.

I explain it below in the recipe directions.  You can always hard-boil eggs a couple of days in advance and use them when you want to whip a quick dish.

What I love about rotini is the spiral of the noodle holds tomato sauce and olive oil well.  It nestles into the noodle and each bite is coated with delicious flavor.  The tri-color part actually comes from real veggies: carrots, spinach and tomatoes. There’s black bean, chickpea and lentil rotini you can try to amp up the nutritional value in your bowl, also.

Simple Tri-Color Rotini with Egg Yolks

Serves 6 

Ingredients

1-12 ounce box tri-color rotini

6 large eggs, hard-boiled

3 Tablespoons first-cold pressed, extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

First hard-boil eggs, place them in a medium stock pot and fill with water until just covering the eggs.  Place them on the stovetop over high heat, bring to a rolling boil.  Immediately turn heat down to simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Set a timer as the timing is precise.  After 10 minutes, remove from heat and put under cold water running water to stop the cooking process.

Cook the rotini according to directions on the package.

Place the hard-boiled eggs on a cutting board and gently roll each one a few times on the surface to loosen the shells.  Peel the shells off and discard (or place in your compost container).   Cut into the whites all the way around to remove from the yolks in one piece.  Cut each yolk into quarters.

Whisk the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano and salt together.

Portion 2 ounces of pasta into bowls, add 4 quarters (1 whole yolk) to into each bowl and drizzle with the olive oil mixture.

Serve while warm.  Enjoy!