In Vegan We Trust

I have called this dish “Linguine alla vegana innamorata”; see the recipe below.

Ingredients 

• Pasta (fettucine). Normally calculate about gr 100 per person
• Fresh tomatoes, better if in season (consider about 2/3 tomatoes per person)
• Onion or garlic – that’s entirely up to you. (1 whole onion or three cloves of garlic)
• Potatoes (it depends on how big they are but roughly 1 potato per person)
• Fresh coriander or parsley
• Fresh tofu (if available)
• Fresh spring onions
• Fresh hot chili pepper (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

 

Instructions

• Fill a big pot with water and turn on the heater to medium
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into little cubes of 1 cm
• Put the potatoes in the pot with water
• Wash the tomatoes and cut them into pieces
• Peel the onion or the garlic and cut it into small pieces too
• Slice the chili pepper
• Put the tomatoes, the chili and the onion or garlic in a blender with a little water and blend until creamy and rather liquid
• Preheat a big pan or, if you don’t have it a pot would be alright, to low heat
• Put the tomato sauce in the pot and let it cook at very low heat until it becomes very creamy
• Cut the tofu in small cubes – just like the potatoes – and add it to the tomato sauce
• When the potatoes are almost done, take the fettuccine and put them in the big pot together with the potatoes.
• Wash and cut up the coriander or parseley and the spring onions
• When the fettuccine are ready (taste them to make sure they are right), drain the water and mix the fettuccine and the potatoes to the tomato sauce which by now should be ready
• Put everything in a big serving container and garnish with coriander and spring onions
• Add extra virgin olive oil if you wish

 

Hints

The traditional way to make the tomato sauce in Italy is to lightly cook the onion or garlic in a little seed oil (not olive) and then add the rest. However, if you want this dish to be as healthy as possible, I advise you to use little or no oil while cooking and just add a few drops of raw good quality extra virgin olive oil once the pasta is ready.

To make it even more interesting and nutritious,  add crushed peanuts on top or, if you enjoy the taste, you can sprinkle the fettuccine with seaweed such as nori.

Buon Appetito