Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

In the post “7/17 The Roast With the Most” I told you about my roasting binge where I roasted everything that wasn’t tied down. It was the most fantastic thing because it was effortless and made for some extraordinary ingredients to create with.  Roasting edibles brings them to an entirely new level of flavor.

I anoint whatever I am roasting with olive oil, dust it with salt and pepper and wrap it in a foil packet. I put the  packets on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven until everything inside the packets are wrinkly and roasted. The seasonal heirloom tomatoes were quite a find for this sauce, but it is the roasting that will elevate any tomato to rock start status and create a sauce to the mach ten of flav0r.

Photo By: S. Duquet

You will  notice that because the  bundle of heirlooms I used were both orange and red, the finished sauce took on this roasted, toasted golden color. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 Carton of small tomatoes  (I used red and yellow heirloom)

2 Roasted Poblano peppers with the seeds removed

3 Clove s of roasted garlic

1/3 Cup diced Kalamata (or green or black) olives

1/2 Yellow ( or red or green)  pepper

1/4 Cup of red wine

1 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast

2 Servings of the pasta of your choice

1/4 Daiya Mozzarella cheese shreds (optional)

A little or alot of fresh Basil cut in chiffonade style. I cant grow it fast enough to suit my needs.  I adore the flavor and use a lot.

Make it Happen:

Roast your tomatoes, garlic and poblanos and let cool. Pop three or four cloves of garlic out of your roasted bulb and put in food processor with tomatoes,  seeded poblanos, olives and yellow pepper. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a sauce pan and add enough red wine (or white wine or water) to make it the consistency you desire.

Make two servings of the noodle of your choice  (I used Rotini). Combine the pasta,  sauce and Nutritional Yeast.  I then mixed in a serving of the Daiya mozz cheese shreds. I am not sure I would do this next time. It did add a creamy-cheesy -ness to the dish, but I have found that I don’t like the Daiya mozz as much as I like the cheddar, so it is entirely up to you. The sauce is an  atom bomb of flavor and doesn’t really need the cheese.

Mix it all up and put in a casserole dish to bake. Bake covered at 350 degrees until it is bubbly (about 35  minutes). The last five minutes, uncover and sprinkle with the fresh basil. Cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes then savor the flavors.

Photo By: S. Duquet

As a bonus I mashed some of the roasted garlic in a bowl with vegan butter and a smidge of coarse salt. I slathered it on slices of hearty bread and put it in the oven for a few minutes for phenomenal garlic bread on the fly. It was like having dinner in Italy without the jet-lag.

Have a delicious day and roast everything you can get your hands on.  You will be so glad you did.

Tags: 30 day challenge, compassionate eating, cooking with herbs, dairy free, heirloom tomatoes, homemade pasta sauce, roasting garlic, roasting vegetables, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan, vegan challenge, vegan pasta bake, vegan recipe