No tomatoes were harmed in the making of this recipe

Okay, it’s our final night of vegetarian dinners and after last night’s slightly cheating recipe that was YUMMY and DELICIOUS, I decided I better get back to the original plan and make something new.  I had originally planned to do a different recipe tonight with brown rice and chickpeas but then, I got to thinking that I haven’t done pasta yet and tonight seemed like a good one for it.  No, I didn’t just buy a new shape and dump pasta sauce on it and call it dinner.  I really did decide to do something new and different.  And, I decided that the tomato content should be exceptionally low since I’ve been torturing Thing 2 with tomatoes in every dish since I started cooking vegetarian.  She deserves a break and I don’t mean I’m going to go buy her a Kit-Kat® bar.  Although, that would be nice of me, wouldn’t it? 

So, I perused my newly created cookbook and found a pasta recipe that does not use tomatoes at all (no, tomato paste does not count because it’s such a small amount anyway).  The recipe comes from a Cooking Light magazine, probably 1999 (For some reason, Cooking Light doesn’t print the issue year on each page and this recipe happened to be over multiple pages separated by an advertisement; thus, no year but the contributor of the recipe received an award in 1998 so it seems fair to assume that this issue would have been not long after that.).  The sauce, if you will, is made up of bell peppers, some onion and garlic and various seasonings.  Add to it some olives, capers and lemon rind, and you’ve got a positively interesting pasta.  The idea of the dish struck me as Puttanesca style with use of the olives and capers and, I thought it would pair nicely with a Sauvignon Blanc we had in the wine cellar. (I also thought that I wanted to have a glass of wine with dinner instead of tea – perhaps that thought prejudiced my search?  Who cares?  Wine is delicious.  Moving on.)

The longest part of putting this recipe together is the bell peppers themselves.  You need to allot yourself at least an hour for the entire process - chopping the peppers, slicing the onion and mincing the garlic and then the braising of the vegetables.  Of course, you cook the pasta while the peppers are braising and you can do the rest of the prep work at the same time – then, you just throw everything together in a bowl and Voila!  Dinner! 

And, it was quite delicious!  The final touch is a dash of crushed red pepper and it is entirely possible that I dashed a little too much because there were some tears at the dinner table.  Hey, it’s not my fault – it’s a family trait.  I can’t help it.  Just ask my mom about the Thanksgiving with the super spicy green beans.  That’s a story I will pass down to my grandchildren.  The best thing about this dish is that you can do all the chopping and prep work while the peppers are braising and then it’s all just tossing it together.  Make sure you select a large enough bowl so you can toss without spilling – unless, of course, part of your cooking charm is the mess you make in the kitchen then go right ahead and spill.  And, if you’re like me, you have teenagers to clean it all up!  Chores are great!  Wait, don’t take that to mean I’m messy.  I’m not, really.  I’m not!

Our final night of vegetarian dinners was definitely a success, although husband was a little worried about the cheese being an animal product.  Then we had the discussion about the differences between vegetarian and vegan.  All good learning!  And the wine?  The sauvignon blanc complimented the flavors in the pasta perfectly – especially since I overdashed the red pepper. J  Tomorrow, we’re back to eating meat (bulgogi – don’t worry, I’ll share the recipe!) but now I know that I don’t always have to rely on meat to feed the crew.  Gotta change it up and do different stuff and keep it interesting at the dinner table.  And, I will still try new vegetarian recipes and let you know about it.  I promise.

Here are the recipes.  Enjoy them!  Happy cooking, eating and drinking!

Pasta with Braised Bell Peppers, Capers, and Olives

4 cups Braised Bell Peppers, undrained (recipe follows)

4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked)

¾ cup (3 ounces) grated aged Asiago or Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Dash of crushed red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; toss well to coat.

From bowl to plate - YUM!

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

Calories 340 (26% from fat); Fat 9.8g (sat 3.7g, mono 4.1g, poly 1.2g); Protein 14g; Carbohydrates 51.1g; Fiber 5.4g; Cholesterol 18mg; Iron 4.7mg; Sodium 840mg; Calcium 232mg

Braised Bell Peppers

Olive oil-flavored cooking spray

4 cups red bell pepper strips (about 1 ¼ pounds)

4 cups yellow bell pepper strips (about 1 ¼ pounds)

2 ½ cups vertically sliced onion

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon aniseed, crushed (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Place a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add the bell peppers, onion, salt, aniseed, and garlic; sauté 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the water and tomato paste.  Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until bell peppers are soft.  Stir in basil, vinegar, and black pepper.

lovely peppers and onions hanging out with the garlic

simmering and simmering and simmering

Note: Leftover bell peppers can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Yield: 4 cups (serving size: ½ cup)

Calories 45 (12% from fat); Fat 0.6g (sat 0.1g, mono 0.1g, poly 0.3g); protein 1.5g; Carbohydrate 9.6g; fiber 2.5g, Cholesterol 0mg; iron 1.5mg; sodium 153mg, Calcium 17mg