I Tried It: Broccoli slaw pasta

If you've spent as much time on Pinterest as I have (and if you have, it may be time to go outside or something) you will have seen the ubiquitous recipe for broccoli slaw "pasta."  The basic recipe, according to several websites, is just the slaw, 1/4 cup of water, in a skillet for 5-8 minutes.  Then you treat it like pasta, which for me means even more veggies and a fuckton of cheese.  The Pinterest recipe doesn't specify how much slaw to use, and since I was just cooking for myself I certainly wasn't about to use the whole bag.  This created the problem of how much water to use, so I decided instead to cook it in the sauce.  I used store-bought marinara, and way too much of it, which unfortunately watered it down.  Since I need a harmonious blend of textures in my food, I added some "baby bella" organic mushrooms and of course copious amounts of cheese.  It went...ok.


Recipe:

half a bag of broccoli slaw (this is enough for 2 bowls)
five mushrooms, quartered (button, crimini, portabella, your choice)
2 oz shredded mozzarella or smoked mozzarella (smoked tastes sooo much better with mushrooms)
olive oil for the pan (about 1 tsp)
1/3 to 1/2 cup your favorite tomato sauce

Note: Obviously if you eat vegan or paleo leave out the cheese or try it with pesto sauce

Chop the mushrooms into quarters and toss into skillet with olive oil.  Sautee the mushrooms until they release their liquid then add the broccoli slaw.  Let it simmer for a minute until some of the liquid evaporates, then add the sauce.  Simmer everything on low heat for about 5 minutes, then toss in the cheese, stir once, and cover.  Simmer another 3 to 5 minutes, remove the lid, and allow the pasta to cool for a few minutes.  Enjoy!



The reason I say this only went "ok" is that I made the mistake of using too much sauce, and the fact that shredded broccoli and carrots cannot possibly taste like real pasta.  Using too much sauce did mean though that the cheese didn't stick to the pan.  Thought I'd mention that.  Otherwise this is a fantastic low-carb alternative to pasta.  It was a good vehicle for tomato sauce and I bet it would kick ass with a good pesto.  You can omit the mushrooms, but I thought they made a good textural counterpoint to the slaw itself and recommend including them.