ITALIAN INSPIRED VEGETARIAN SPAGHETTI

Vegetarian Italian style, all you need to use is the basic Italian ingredients to season this simple vegetarian dish, which will be Lacto-ovo, meaning yes, you can add in dairy and eggs if you want. "Yay!"

So when I think of Italian cooking, and mind you, I am not Italian, I've never been to Italy, never been to New York or Chicago, where there's a lot of hard-core Italianos. I mean that with respect. So I'm not an expert on Italian cook, period. But I'll try my best to use what the culture does use, that I can get in my local market.

Here's what it looks like.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. angel hair pasta, cooked to directions

1/4 cup olive oil

1 lb. vegetarian ground beef (Check your local natural food store, there are good brands in cans or frozen)

Sauce

1/8 cup safflower oil

4 cloves of garlic smashed

1/2 round onion diced

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

6 (48 fl oz.) cups of low sodium tomato sauce

1/4 cup of tomato paste

1/2 cup water

1/8 cup sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Garnish

Chopped parsley

Chopped basil

1 1/2  cups grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F

2. Place cooked pasta noodles in a large mixing bowl, add a few drizzles of olive oil. Mix well.

3. In a medium sauce pan, add in safflower oil over medium high heat, sauté the garlic, onions until aroma is filling the air. Add in salt and white pepper. Add in tomato sauce, paste, water, sugar, and cook stirring for about 8-10 minutes until heated through, season with dried oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder. Add in the vegetarian ground beef, and cook for about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add in the cooked sauce mixture to the bowl with cooked pasta noodles, and mix well. Place in a lightly greased baking dish large enough to hold entire content. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over, and bake for about 10-13 minutes, or until the cheese turns slightly brown. Remove and rest for about 15 minutes before eating. Garnish with chopped basil, and chopped parsley.

        

© 2016