Favourite recipes - Mushroom risotto with parmesan
We love to share our riders' favourite recipes. Today on the menu: mushroom riso...
‘Lasagna con verdure grigliate'. Today is Lasagna Day and that means time for a new recipe. And believe us, this recipe sounds as good as it tastes.
Pasta is an important source of carbohydrates, for our riders and also for you. Your body needs a daily amount of energy and a large part of that comes from carbohydrates. The reason that pasta is so closely associated with an athletic lifestyle and, in particular, cycling, is something that stems from the earlier years of cycling. Back then people thought: the more pasta the better. Before, but also after a race, whole plates of pasta were consumed. The infamous pasta parties!
Our riders are happy with a good pasta (who wouldn’t be?), but there is a conscious choice for the moments when pasta is served. Days before heavy stages (or training sessions) work is done on ‘carb loading’ or the accumulation of carbohydrates (glycogen) in the muscles as a source of energy for the following day. As mentioned before, pasta is ideal, because it contains a good amount of carbohydrates. Besides carbohydrates, pasta also contains some proteins, fats and fibres. Fibres are important for good health, bowel movements and intestinal flora, but as a cyclist you sometimes prefer to avoid them, e.g. on the days before a mountain stage. If you reduce your fibre intake you can temporarily lose some weight (fluid and intestinal content) and in the mountains an optimal weight is very important. After all, every gram has to go up the mountain with you!
"Pasta is an important source of carbohydrates"
Apart from the days before mountain stages, pasta is often on the menu. It is tasty, absorbs flavour, has a good bite and you can endlessly vary its taste, shape, structure, sauce and filling. It is a favourite on the menu of our riders, for dinner but also as a recovery meal in the bus after a race.
In need of some variation in your own pasta repertoire? Get inspired by this tasty vegetarian lasagna recipe with grilled vegetables. Maybe not the healthiest dish, but it comes very close to the most delicious one.
Ingredients (for 4 persons)
Preparation method (approx. 60 minutes)
Buon appetito!
Nutritional value (per serving)