Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Rustic Pasta

Some recipes are so simple, you have to ask, "why didn't I think of that?" The Rustic Pasta from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet is one of those:

Admittedly, it isn't the most attractive dish, but I wish photos could convey flavor because this dish is packed with savory taste. Whole wheat spaghetti noodles are tossed with sauteed cabbage, onions, and celery seasoned with shoyu (I used soy sauce because I'm not fancy enough to buy shoyu) and a bit of marinara sauce. Though the recipe didn't call for it, I threw in some beefy-flavored textured vegetable protein (one of the basic faux meat recipes in my cookbook).

One thing I love about this recipe is its un-sauciness (yes, I made that word up). Though I love a good marinara, I've always preferred to have more noodles on my plate than sauce. When I was a little bitty kid, I ate my noodles sauce-less and simply covered in butter (a creation I dubbed "butter 'sketti"). Anyway, the recipe calls for six tablespoons of sauce. I actually upped it to a half-cup, and that was still a scant amount compared to the volume of noodles. I used the generic Whole Foods brand mushroom marinara, by the way.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's funny! I love my noodles absolutely drenched in sauce!

Lindsay I-F said...

This is one of my favorite easy go to recipe

The Voracious Vegan said...

I know the feeling; the ugliest foods are usually the TASTIEST! But I think this pasta looks lovely, it really does look rustic and hearty. But I have to admit...I like a lot of sauce!

Theresa said...

I'm with you -- noodles trump sauce. Andy is the opposite, preferring his pasta absolutely drowning.

Belle said...

I totally agree with more noodles, less sauce. Ever since I was a kid I preferred my noodles with only salt as a topping.
Im thinking I need to try out this cookbook.

Anna said...

My kids love past with a bit of vegan margerine and some vegan parmesan on top, it's their favourite way to eat pasta I think!

Looking forward to your cookbook by the way!

Josh said...

shoyu is fancy? whaa? it's <$4/bottle for san-j og shoyu where i work.

Sarah (GF vegan) said...

You've described it well and it sounds yummy. I'm going to have buy this book! The husband's just bought an xbox 360 so i think i should be able to justify a book or two :)

Lisa said...

i think it looks great packed with all those veggies.

jessy said...

sometimes simple really is the best! and i love me some less sauced sketties too 'cause i am also all about the noodley goodness! i bought the kind diet back in october, but my sister's been borrowing it for a while. i need to see about getting it back so i can make some rustic pasta for dan and i to enjoy. mmmmmmmmm!

Sarah @ See Sarah Eat said...

I am the same way, I prefer sauce to just lightly coat my pasta, while my husband dumps it on, haha. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I have asked for The Kind Diet for my birthday :)

Keri - I Eat Trees said...

I have this book and should definitely make this one- looks delicious!
When I was a kid I also ate my noodles plain! I'd ask my mom to put my spaghetti in a cup and the vegetables in another cup. :P

Tami said...

Another big fan of 'buttery noodles'. It took me years to like sauce. This dish looks awesome and I'm adding this book to my wishlist.

miss v said...

well, i'm sauce fan, but i love the fact that there is cabbage in it! i made a fresh veggie pasta a while back and was tentative of the cabbage, but it rocks!

Jenn Shagrin said...

Well, I think this dish is damn sexy anyways :)

Hahaha thank you for your comment. It had me actually "lol-ing". If you attempt the recipe, you'll have to let me know how it turns out. You can definitely just omit the Dr. Cow and use Daiya for all the cheese.

Thanks again!

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Me too! I used to eat my pasta with nothing but butter and parmesan cheese. Butter 'sketti! :)

I haven't tried this dish from The Kind Diet yet, but it looks scrummy.

Laura said...

Shoyu 醤油 translates directly to "soy sauce", so there's no need to buy a Japanese brand if the ingredients are all the same. Silly stores charging more for the same thing in another language!

Vegan In The VI said...

Sounds like a great recipe, but I still refuse to buy that cookbook. Saving my pennies for your book...one of these days....