For Those Vegetarians… Vegi Pasta

I love pasta because of its versatility. Its quick and easy and of course great for leftovers (when there is some)!! My pasta recipe is an awesome menu addition for when you have vegetarians over or if you just want a break from meat.

Start by adding salt to the pasta water and brinng it to a rolling boil. The salt will season the pasta and prevent your pasta getting too bland when you mix it with the sauce.

Next prep the vegetables! For this recipe I am using red peppers, zucchini, onions, garlic and carrots.

Cut the zucchini in quarters or in bite size bits. This pasta is great with grilled red peppers. Grill the red peppers in a toaster oven by setting it to broil. You want to burn the skin of the pepper so they are easier to peel. Once you get some nice char on the pepper, put them into a bowl and cover with a plate. The heat and the steam will help the skin separate from the flesh.

Chop onions and garlic and get them ready to cook.

For protein I like to add tofu to pasta. Cut them into cubes. Carrots are also great for pasta. It gives the sauce a nice sweetness and rounds out the flavours.

I start my pasta sauce by softening the onions and garlic. Add olive oil to the pan and get it hot before adding the onions and garlic. You will know its just right when a drop of water sizzles in the pan.

I also really like using canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Canned tomatoes reduces the amount of time you need to cook your sauce. First put the canned tomatoes in with the onion and garlic mix. You will need to reduce the sauce by letting it simmer.

While simmering the sauce add the spices. I love using oregano and bay leaves. Let them simmer in the sauce but remember to take out the bay leaves before serving or someone will get a surprise or what I like to call a “present”.

Once the peppers have cooled down a bit, you can peel away the skin. Chop it up and add it to the sauce.

Add the rest of the vegetables into the sauce and let them cook. You want them tender and not crunchy. Also add the tomato paste.

For this sauce, I decided to make it a creamy tomato sauce so I adding some delicious whipping cream (yum!!). Add the whipping cream last as it can cause the sauce to burn and you don’t want that to happen.

Boil the pasta and make sure its “al dente” or slightly firm. Read the package to tell you when its ready. Add the sauce to the pasta and of course sprinkle fresh parmesan and ‘Voila!!’ vegi pasta!