Rigatoni with Cabbage and Fontina

Sometimes pasta is the answer. But sometimes the problem with pasta being the answer is the rich, decadent, calorie-laden sauces that so often grace pasta dishes.

The secret to a pasta dish that gives the satisfaction of a rich, decadent sauce is a combination of pasta cooking water plus a flavorful cheese. Tossing hot pasta with a stronger-flavored cheese (in this case, fontina and parmesan) and a bit of the cloudy, starchy water that pasta has just been cooked in forms a thinner but still flavorful sauce that is lower-calorie but still coat-the-pasta satisfying.

This recipe has 500 calories per serving, thanks to that lighter sauce!

Rigatoni with Cabbage and Fontina was published in Food Network Magazine January/February 2019

Carrie Richins