Here's one of my favorite vegan Italian dishes to throw together. It's light and flavorful, and pretty easy to make. You can also add or eliminate whatever you want to suit your tastes - get creative!
INGREDIENTS:
whole wheat spaghetti
onions
peppers
garlic
grape tomatoes
pesto
giardiniera
vegan Italian sausage
seasoning (optional)
LET'S COOK
If you have the time and feel more comfortable cooking each part in stages, you can do that, but if you want to save time, you can easily multitask and get it done in under 20 minutes.
In lightly salted water, boil about a cup of whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Cook al dente, strain, and set aside.
Put a skillet over low-medium heat. While things are heating up, chop a handful of onions and peppers (I used red and yellow peppers) and cut a handful of grape tomatoes in half.
When the pan is ready, pour enough oil in to coat the bottom and add your chopped onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Stir the veggies around periodically to lightly sautee them, about 5-7 minutes.
You can cook your favorite vegan Italian sausage in the side of the same pan, or go ahead and cook it separately (Tofurkey has a great plant-based Italian sausage). Follow the cooking instructions on the package, or just make sure to turn the sausage occasionally until the whole sausage is lightly brown. Set aside.
Once the tomatoes start to soften and the skin looks a little wrinkly, lightly press them to release the juices. Add your garlic, a few spoonfuls of giardiniera, and a spoonful of pesto. Sprinkle some seasoning to taste (optional - I personally add in some black pepper and garlic salt), stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Add in your noodles and toss over the heat for about a minute. Turn off the heat.
Chop up the Italian sausage and add to the pasta. Toss to coat, pour in a bowl, and serve.