Vegetarian Highlight: Whole Grain Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

My favorite host on Food Network is Giada De Laurentiis. My daughter just loves her and she is like another family member to us, seriously. You can only imagine my excitement when I tuned in one day and her show was entitled "Viewer's Choice: Vegetarian"! Basically, viewers wrote in with their requests on what they wanted to see on the show and vegetarian recipes won out. According to Giada, she is predicting that 2012 is going to be all about vegetarian fare--that of which I could not be happier about (check out her interview here). I had to try her Whole Grain Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms recipe immediately. (Note: The only difference was that I kept the mushrooms whole and the Brussels Sprouts chunkier, just my own personal touch!)

{I am a huge Brussels sprouts lover...they really add personality to a dish}

{fresh lemon, creme fraiche and toasted slivered almonds. just a few of the stand-out ingredients.}

{brilliantly staged vegetables}

{the unexpected addition of the fresh lemon and lemon zest was the best surprise to this recipe.}

{finished and plated!}

Words cannot describe how wonderfully tasty this recipe was. I am pretty sure I existed on these leftovers for two to three days afterwards. The pepper gave it a kick and the lemon zest really was the highlight, adding a fresh zing. The creaminess of the creme fraiche made the taste smooth and really blended the ingredients together nicely. Toasted slivered almonds add a protein punch as well as a delectable crunchiness. Pair the dish with baguette on the side to complete the meal, but on it's own it was magnificent. This is one that will remain in my recipe book.

Now, onto Giada's other vegetarian recipes...