Pasta a la Dora

Hands up if you are a pasta lover like me. I could eat all variations, it is such a versatile dish, you can combine pasta with anything.

Recently I made a lot of goodies for the winter pantry, and from the overripe tomatoes of course some passata has been jarred.

Passata is an easy sauce to make, but there are some variations you can find online. Some people like to pour hot water on the tomatoes and take the skin off before cooking, or in most cases they push them through a strainer after it's ready. As I don't like to waste any part I just blended it.

Ingredients:

Onion

Garlic

Tomatoes

Salt

Sugar or sweetener of choice

Optional: basil, oregano, chilli flakes

Sautee the onions for five minutes, add the garlic, then cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and let them release their juice. Cook it until they become mushy, add the spices and sugar. Push it through a strainer or blend it smooth and store them in glass jars.

Also made some pesto from the greens of the harvested carrots. You can use them in soups or garnish any dish instead of parsley. For the pesto you need:

Greens of carrots

Olive oil

Salt

Optional: nutritional yeast, pine nuts

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor and store in jars.

For the "cheese" sauce I have a real quick and simple recipe:

2 tbps nutritional yeast

1 tsp lemon juice

pinch of salt

garlic powder

water or plant yoghurt to get paste consistency

So if you have all the sauces ready, let's move on to the brussel sprouts. I have a love-hate relationship with them to be honest. I need a lot of flavors packed in to like them.

Ingredients:

Brussel sprouts cut in half

Soy sauce

Liquid smoke

Ground cumin, cayenne, garlic powder

Add the greens in a pan cut side down. Add some water (1 dl or third cup) and let them steam until water evaporates. Let them get some charred edges, then add soy sauce and all the spices and cook them for another two minutes without moving them. After that stir them gently so they get coated on all sides but be gentle so they don't fall apart.

Final part is cooking the pasta. Heat up the passata (about 1/2 cup per person), add half the amount of water and add the spaghetti. Cook it for 8-9 minutes or as recommended on package. Add the brussel sprouts, pesto dollops, fresh cherry tomatoes, cheeze sauce, fresh basil and a little olive oil on top and it's ready to enjoy.

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