Pasta is such a versatile food. And it’s only becoming more so. Back in my day we had pasta made of semolina flour. Now there is a VAST field of alternative pastas. There’s the basic whole wheat pasta, and more daring varieties made from edamame, brown rice, black beans, lentils, mung beans, chickpeas, and even kelp.

This isn’t to say these versions taste really great. But when you combine them with other ingredients, you can have a reasonable alternative to a gluten-based pasta dish. Take chickpea pasta, for instance. If you toss it with a sauce made from hot Italian sausage, lots of garlic, and broccoli, the dish is doable (if you’re comfortable with pasta not being the star of the dish).

However, the combining-with-other-ingredients is actually my theme here. Whatever flavor pasta you choose, the fun really starts with mixing and matching accompanying ingredients. For instance, have you ever tried combining corn and spinach into a pasta dish? Or eggplant and roasted pepper into a hot pasta? Or pairing zucchini with fresh mint (in photo below)?

It’s just about experimenting. The cooked pasta is like a blank canvas. It’ll work with whatever you add to it. Basically, whatever works well solo, will likely work well as a duet, quartet, etc. Some examples: broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, tomatoes (fresh or sun-dried in oil), asparagus, bell peppers, fresh herbs, and the afore-mentioned spinach. These are pretty safe bets.

But the folks at www.epicurious.com dare us to get TRULY creative with our pasta. They say we ought to add in some chopped olives or jarred tapenade, quartered artichoke hearts, capers, sliced pickled chiles or roasted red peppers, drained canned tuna or other tinned seafood (in photo below).

And several professional chefs suggest a pasta elevation with a flavorful garnish. A grating of lemon zest, some crunchy breadcrumbs or even a crumble of crispy bacon will add texture and an extra layer of taste. Then there’s that healthy dollop pesto or a drizzle of cream cheese thinned with milk or cream at that adds a richness that works with everything!

I’ll close with a recipe that touches on combining the above-mentioned spinach and corn. Aunt Annie used to make this every summer. I’d forgotten all about it until a few days ago when I saw a very similar recipe on www.marthastewart.com. Below is Martha’s version combined with Aunt Annie’s recipe. To say this is delicious is an understatement.