Very Healthy Spaghetti
You know, I don’t know much about healthy food, or healthy eating habit. Each time I thought this food is healthy, it turned out to be one with carsinogenic agent inside. Other time I thought this kind of eating habit is healthy, turned out it didn’t suit my tummy behaviour, causing me feeling sick all day. And so on, and so on.
But lately, actually since Santap Magazine stopped its publishing, I turned to its older sister, Nirmala Magazine. I think it’s just because I wanna keep seeing nice food photographs. Because I don’t think any other culinary magazines in Indonesia can beat the stunning yet elegant food photos made by Santap. Since Nirmala is practically the big sister who actually gave birth to Santap, it exercises the same manner of photography. So, yes, I just wanted to see good food photos
But then, they started to intoxicate me with this concept of eating, a cult, who practices natural and healthy eating and cooking. Before I knew it, I’ve been following its guidance. So far, I’m happy
Making this spaghetti was not as simple as I thought it would be. The paprika needed to be grilled first, peeled, chopped. Everything needed to be chopped first, or boiled or cut. But in the end, it’s worth all the slavery. It’s full of fibre (wholewheat spaghetti, yay!), low fat, low cholesterol, all natural (almost, if you use canned red beans). You can eat and eat until you cannot eat anymore, still you won’t be fat. Isn’t it like utopia?
Spaghetti with Paprika Sauce
Source: Nirmala Magazine
2 Tbsp extra light olive oil, for sauteeing
50 g onion, finely chopped
2 garlic, finely chopeed
50 g ground beef (I skipped this)
150 g canned red beans (I used fresh, then boiled them until tender)
500 g red paprika, grill until slightly burnt here and there, wrap with aluminum foil, set aside for 20 minutes, peel and chop finely
2 tsp tomato paste (I substituted with 2 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped, and add up the lemon juice to taste)
200 ml water
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
50 g celery stick, cut 1 cm
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil, chopped (you can also add sage, thyme and or oregano to taste)
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp black pepper, crushed
375 g wholewheat spaghetti, boil in water with a little bit salt (follow the instruction on the package)
- Heat olive oil in a pan, sautee onion and garlic until fragrant. Stir in ground beef, cook until done. Stir in red beans, chopped paprika, tomato paste and water. Cook until boiled. Turn down the heat, continue cooking for about 15 minutes.
- Stir in cornstarch, cook until thickened. Add in celery stick, salt, sugar, basil, parsley and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Cook for another 5 minutes, turn off the heat.
- Arrange cooked wholewheat spaghetti on a plate, pour paprika sauce, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and crushed black pepper.
Have a healthy life!
Comment by eliza — September 27, 2006 @ 4:55 am
eits..jangan salah, kalo kebanyakan makan pasta ya bisa endut juga toh?
tapi memang kalo isinya tanpa daging pasti lebih sehat. apalagi kalo ada fresh basil, yum!
Comment by rita — September 27, 2006 @ 10:31 am
Majalah santap tutup… padahal aku blom pernah ketemu majalah santap, hiks… kejam bener..
Comment by ruri — September 27, 2006 @ 12:33 pm
hiaaaa….. kayaknya bentar lagi jadi penganut food combining sejati neeeeh
Comment by peabody — September 28, 2006 @ 6:00 am
This is healthy….and I could eat this on my diet…yay.
Comment by rhani — September 28, 2006 @ 9:28 am
Thanks very much for visiting my blog and for all the story about a salon and a magazine..
(just kidding :p)
hiks), especially this one cuz I loooove spaghetti so much! 
Lovely blog u have here.. and very informative too.. I’m soo glad I ‘landed’ on this blog full of food (yum..yum). And it’s very generous of u to share all these delicious recipes along with beautiful photos. I promise to myself to practice some of your recipes (I rarely cook
And I will tell all my friends about this blog.
You are awesome Riana..!
Comment by Zatul — September 28, 2006 @ 2:17 pm
riana, thanks for the information. Will try to bake some and will let you know if i succeed
p/s: I’m still admiring your food photos!
Comment by Ritha — September 28, 2006 @ 8:33 pm
Wah. wah. wah. Rajin banget! Semua yg kalengan diganti dengan yang fresh. Wah. hebat. BTW, Riana masak juga, ternyata! Jadinya for the love of… apa nih, Ri?
Comment by Lin — September 28, 2006 @ 10:05 pm
hi riana, salam kenal =) wah aku baru sadar kalo blog aku di masukkin sini (padahal aku masih tingkat freshman nih)..hehehe…thanks ya =)
i’ve been reading your blog for a while now. I love it b/c it’s very informative and has great pictures =)
Comment by arfi binsted — October 1, 2006 @ 10:45 am
sebetulnya masak spagetti banyak macam dan caranya. untuk lebih singkat masak, dan light meal untuk lunch, aku biasa masak spagetti dg cuma tumis bawang bombay dan bawang putih, pake garam dan lada hitam. ga lupa ditambah bayam atau irisan asparagus. sprinkle with good parmesan. atasnya topped dg poached eggs. tetep sehat kan? hihihi…
Comment by nYam — October 2, 2006 @ 11:50 am
jadi ngiler….dan masih dua bulan lagi sampai ada dapur…sementara harus puas dengan kompor listrik 15 cm itu
Comment by Andrie Anne — October 3, 2006 @ 8:54 pm
Eh sama nih lagi pengen pasta juga, tapi bukan spagetty. Aduuh itu photo2..kapan itu camera mo dipensiunkan? Lempar aja ke mari..huaha *ngarep*
Comment by asti — October 4, 2006 @ 2:08 pm
Mbak Riana,salam kenal..nice pictures you have here..mmhh menjelajah blog ini bikin puasa batal nggak ya? hehe.. the spagghetti sounds terrific, oh by the way I’m one of your biggest fan since I tried Japanese Cheese Cake. Can’t wait to try another recipe of yours ! (^o^/)
Comment by ririe — October 7, 2006 @ 10:54 am
Hi Mbak Riana, apa kabarnya?
Lama yah nga main kemari… maklum mbak agak2 sibuk ama dagangan risol dll-nya 
Gimana kameranya? Udah benar?
Kok jarang keliatan di YM sih mba???
Masa sih mbak nga bisa kirim comment di foodlog saya?
Soal ngias cake saya ini mah masih pemula bangettttt… masih mesti banyak belajar dari mbak Riana