January 10, 2008 at 3:56 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: cooking, food, pasta, vegetarian
We had plenty of sauce left over, and the taste had mellowed and improved over the days since it was first cooked. I’d picked up a packet of Latina’s new variety of fresh pasta – the wholemeal spinach and ricotta ravioli. My partner and I were curious to see how well the wholemeal version would taste. It was scrumptious. And we had some of that left over too, to which I added some cooked wholemeal spiral pasta. Mixed it in with the sauce, made a nice, thick cheese sauce which was poured over the top. Topped with grated cheese and slid it into an oven to bake for half an hour until the topping was all golden brown.
Utterly delightful!
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January 7, 2008 at 2:23 am (cooking)
Tags: cooking, food, pasta, vegetarian
Well I cooked my pasta sauce as detailed below. I sautéed the onions and mushies in a frypan on the stove top, but then finished the sauce off in the microwave as it was so hot and I didn’t want to heat the kitchen up any further.
Unfortunately, I didn’t notice at the time of cooking, but the onions didn’t soften as much as I’d have liked, so they’re a little crunchy. Nice, but well, just not soft and sweet.
And I possibly didn’t microwave the sauce for long enough. There was enough to fill a large round casserole dish and so I should have zapped it for around 8 to 10 minutes. Instead I only zapped it for 6, so it ended up having a very fresh, slightly raw taste. Raw is the wrong word because it was all cooked, it’s just that the onions and the zucchini (courgettes) were firm to the bite.
Still very edible though. Even if my partner said it was too runny (if I’d simmered it on the stove top it would have evaporated down and thickened a lot more).
We’re having the left-overs for tea tonight. And quite happily too.
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January 6, 2008 at 4:41 am (cooking)
Tags: cooking, kitchen, meat substitute, pasta, vegetarian
How can you have a vegetarian version of pasta with bolognaise sauce? Easy. Fake meat. Yes, this will offend some vegetarians out there. But for me, I am happy to use a number of meat substitutes. This particular meal, which I’m making later today, can be served without the pretend mince. Sometimes I omit it, sometimes I don’t. It just depends on my mood and appetite at the time of cooking.
This is a very quick meal to prepare. If you omit the sautéeing of the onion and mushrooms, then it’s even quicker. You can also omit any added vegetables if you’re in a real hurry. But I like to include them. For the sake of nutrition. And they taste nice.
- 1 onion, diced
- some mushrooms, sliced (your choice on how many, I add enough to fill a breakfast bowl)
- 1 zucchini (courgette), green or yellow, chopped into chunks
- 440g tin crushed or chopped tomatoes, no added salt variety
- 440g tin lentils (Sanitarium brand, comes with gravy and onion)
- 440g tin Sanitarium Casserole Mince (sometimes I only use 1/2 tin)
- small handful of your favourite olives, pitted
- cumin, sweet paprika, salt, pepper, parsley, basil, oregano
- splash of either tomato paste, purée, or your favourite sauce
- maybe 1/2 cup water or stock or even red wine
Sautée the onions and mushrooms in a very small amount of oil, on low heat. I cook using grape seed oil or macadamia oil, that’s my personal preference. I find olive oil a bit strong for cooking. Add your spices (cumin, paprika) and cook till softened. Add the chopped tomatoes and lentils. Stir. Add the sauce and or tomato paste. Stir. Determine how much water or stock you need to add – it will boil down a bit during the simmering process but you don’t want it too watery. I add the Casserole Mince now and the herbs and the pepper. Stir. I add a few pinches of salt, it measures out to be just under 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes if cooking on the stove top. If cooking in the microwave, heat on high for about 6 – 8 minutes. I add the olives at the very end, they don’t need to be cooked, just heated through.
Cook your favourite pasta. Drain. Serve with the sauce and some parmesan.
Eat! Enjoy!
(I have done this recipe whilst on holiday using just the lentils and the tomatoes and a handful of herbs, it turned out very nicely.)
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