Try using beets & beet greens in your pasta! Photo by Scott David Gordon

By Meredith Bethune

Pasta is always reliable for a quick weeknight dinner, but its nutritional value increases enormously when combined with plenty of fresh vegetables. A healthful dinner can be ready in the time needed to boil water and cook the noodles. Satisfying and seasonal pasta and veggie dishes can be made all year round-- greens combine perfectly with noodles in the winter, while tomatoes, pepper, and eggplant are natural companions in the summer.

You don't need much pasta to make such a dish. The noodles act as a carrier for the vegetables, so about two to three ounces per person is suitable. You can use this chart to properly estimate the dry pasta amounts. Now bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and set a kitchen timer about a minute or two less than the directions on the box indicate. The noodles will later be added to the pasta and cooked briefly, but you'll want them to remain al dente for appealing textural contrast. There are few things worse than gluey pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, warm some butter and olive oil in a pan, and then add some chopped onion and plenty of minced garlic. Red pepper flakes are also a nice addition at this stage, or perhaps a bit of dried marjoram or sage. Cook the onions for about five minutes, and then add the veggies. Harder vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, or peppers should be blanched or roasted in advance, while greens can be wilted right in the pan. A generous dollop of creme fraiche complements greens, root vegetables, and fresh peas, and makes the dish feel a bit more luxurious. The bright flavor of summer veggies hardly need it, however, as a tomato sauce base is more complementary. If you'd like, add a bit of shredded chicken, crisped pancetta, browned sausage, or cooked chickpeas for some more protein.

Don't get stuck on spaghetti-- the pasta possibilities are endless. You can experiment with orecchiette, bowties, and fusilli, as well as Japanese soba, Thai rice sticks, and American egg noodles. Decent whole wheat and gluten-free pastas are also more widely available these days. You can also make your own pasta from scratch. Of course it won't be quick, but it's a fun activity, and you can incorporate fresh vegetables like spinach, carrot, or beets into the dough.

Farfalle with Golden Beets, Beet Greens, and Pine Nuts from Epicurious

Fresh Carrot Pasta Dough from Martha Stewart

Bun Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Noodle Salad) from the Kitchn