Thursday 10 October 2013

Pasta for the people - All of the people

Pasta is awesome right? - it comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes, assortments, you can get ravioli filled with yummy vegetables, you can have it in a light salad, with a rich and hearty sauce, as a side to mop up the joooo from a yummy stew.... I've even seen chocolate flavoured pasta in speciality shops so you don't have to miss out on the yummy pasta goodness for dessert.

How could such an innocent product be bad?  Of course this is a rhetorical question - I'm going to tell you exactly how it can be bad (and not in a food poisoning kind of way though that would be bad too)

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/living-in-the-pasta-barilla-suggests-gays-can-eat-another-pasta-20130927-2ui9z.html

I'm sure you've all been aware of the Barilla controversy.  Let me sum it up for you if you don't like clicking on the link.

Barilla CEO made a public statement that he would never depict a gay couple in his pasta adds, and that gays could simply choose to eat another pasta if they wished.

After much controversy - and the good folk in Barilla's PR department (poor buggers) gave their CEO a bit of a talking to; the CEO apologised for his statement, going on to say that he identified his pasta brand with a strong family image, and didn't want to use gays in his add as he felt that "women were the heart of the family."

Ahhh - a solution exists.  Here's a family with women at the heart.  http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/basketball/carrie-graf-opens-up-on-her-sexuality-and-being-a-new-mother-to-twins-20131004-2uyo7.html

Firstly - Congratulations to Carrie and Camille on the very healthy and happy looking additions to their family.  Also, Carrie, thank you for being a strong, proud and visible member of Canberra's community.  Finally, Go Caps!.

The upshot of the whole Barilla "gays can go and have another pasta" issue is this... yep, we can take our pink dollar to another pasta manufacturer or we can make our own fresh pasta at home.  Scroll down through my blog and you'll find a lovely fresh pasta recipe.

I'm going to share below my "bolognaise" recipe.  It's easy to make, basically it's just like a traditional bolognaise, but with red lentils instead of minced meat.

For those of the vegan persuasion, check out the dried pastas on the shelf at the shops rather than the fresh ones which can be made with eggs.  There are heaps of brands and varieties.  For those who are gluten-free, there's plenty of options at the regular supermarket, usually in the "allergy" section.  Or you could just have the bolognaise sauce with some rice - it will still taste really good.

Here's the recipe.
Bolognaise sauce - makes enough for you and your visitors.
Start with:
a splash of olive oil
1 heaped teaspoon of crushed garlic (from a jar is totally fine)

Put a big heavy-based pan on a medium heat, with the oil and garlic.

While the pan is heating up...
Dice one onion
2-3 sticks of celery
and a carrot (or if you have a food processor you can chop them using that)
and grab yourself a bay leaf or two.

Once the garlic is sizzling quietly, add the vegetables and bay leaf to the pan and give it a good stir.

While that's going on, get yourself the following items.
1 cup of red lentils (dried ones)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 jar of commercial tomato based pasta sauce (most of these are vegan - watch out for the sneaky "tomato and bacon" flavour ones if you're keeping it fully vegan)
A splash of white wine (leave the splash in the bottle for now - but just have it on hand for when we need it.)

Once the onion is transparent, there's likely to be a few bits of garlic and other detritus slightly sticking to the bottom of the pan.  That's okay - in fact that's good.  Even if you've gotten it all a bit more stuck than you wanted, that's all good too.  Get your splash of white wine and splash it into the pan.  Stir the vegetables around with a wooden spoon the wine will boil rapidly and help pick up all those bits from the bottom of the pan.

Once most of the wine has evaporated (the alcohol content will cook off as well) drop the bay leaves (or just one) into the pan. 

Follow it with the can of crushed tomatoes, and the jar of pasta sauce.  Rinse the can out with half a can of water, and do the same with the jar - putting the lid back on and giving it a good shake, pouring the rinse into the pasta sauce.

Once the sauce has come to a simmer, add the red lentils, giving it a good stir.

Keep it at a simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 15 minutes get yourself the following items
A spoon to taste
salt and pepper

Taste the sauce - making sure you pick up a lentil or two in the taste test.  Ask yourself the following.
Are the lentils cooked yet? - they should be soft, not at all crunchy or hard.
Does it taste like what I want?
If yes - fantastic, you're done!
If not evaluate as follows.
-Too sweet?
Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste, stir and test again.
-Not herby enough?
Consider adding some dried herbs like basil or oregano.  Start with 1/2 a teaspoon of each dried, then step it up to meet your needs.
-Too acidic?
Sometimes this happens with canned tomatoes.  Add a teaspoon of nuttelex, stir through well.  That will take the edge off any excess acidity from the tomatoes.
-Want it to have some kick?
-Add a little bit of chilli.

And there you have it - Pasta sauce for the people.  Just cook your preferred pasta size, shape, colour, type, or even some rice, polenta, gnocchi.... or whatever you'd like with it, and enjoy! 

If you'd like to stick on a vegan pasta garnish in the absence of parmesan cheese, you could give the following a go to 'tart up' the final product.

-Garnish with a sprig of parsley or some fresh basil leaves

-Roast a cherry truss tomato in the oven (with olive oil at about 180 for about 15 mins) - leave the green stalk on, and plonk on top of your pasta dish at the end of cooking.

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