Meatless Monday really is a thing. A good thing. Not only is it pretty healthy, but you will also save a lot of animals, especially if literally everyone would stick to it. Carnivores like me were hard to convince at first, but as I started finding vegetarian recipes, I was surprised at what you can whip up in the kitchen, and not actually missing meat. Some people want to be vegetarian, but the jump to just meatless meals is not necessarily an easy one. So start with Mondays. Get yourself used to cooking without meat, find recipes, get into the groove! This recipe is from one of my new favorite cook books. It’s called Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi, and his recipes truly are simple. My brother recommended this particular dish to me, and I owe him a big thank you. It is absolutely delicious, and it is super easy to make!
What you’ll need:
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 dried Ancho Chile, torn apart
- salt
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1 cup basil leaves (whole or roughly chopped)
- 1 pack of fettucine
- parmesan cheese
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic (I actually used minced garlic), and fry for about 1 minute over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, sugar, Chile, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Pour in the water and stir for 4 minutes, until the tomatoes are starting to break down, and the liquid is bubbling. Decrease the heat to medium low, and cook covered for one hour.
Prepare fettuccine according to the instruction on the package.
Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed. Stir in the basil. Drain the pasta, and serve in a large bowl, or 4 separate bowls individually. Top off with a good heap of parmesan cheese.
Bon Appétit!
