An easy Vegetarian dinner recipe – Braised Spicy Greens Tomato Sauce

An easy vegetarian dinner recipe option you can toss with your favourite dry pasta, a fresh one you learned from me, or even over quinoa.

Ciao to all the new Bellos and Bellas, and the 1500 members of the Famiglia!
I hope you’re ready for the sun, because spring has sprung! I love alliteration and am definitely ready for the sun to arrive.

My recipe this month begins to wake up the taste buds after winter’s rich foods. It’s also a healthy, fast, and tasty vegetarian recipe that’s perfect for spring. I’m not vegetarian but much of Italy is, and many of my home meals are.

A note of thanks, as half of my May classes are sold out. There is still space in my hands on Puglia Pasta Class where you will learn to make the short shapes of Orechietti, Cavatelli, and Gnochetti Sardi pictured below. For bread lovers you have the option to join my Roman Pizza and Focaccia class. A perfect early gift for Mother’s day in Vancouver. Book your spot through this link to Vancouver Parks and Recreation.

My Ma loves cooking this style dish. Braising greens in tomato sauce is a classic way of preparing them in Lazio (Roman region) where my parents are from. In this sauce I combine 3 of my favourite ingredients to wake up your mouth; chili flakes, olives, and greens.

Now put your apron on and get dirty. Please reach out with any questions you may have. Enjoy dinner and always #EawthwiththoseyouLove TM

As with any recipe always use safe cooking procedures, & food safe practices. Health Canada is a great site for all food safe guidelines. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/topics/food-safety.html

Braised Spicy Greens Tomato Sauce – An easy vegetarian dinner recipe

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 1 bag of a good Bronze Extruded Pasta or your home made orechietti, cavatelli or gnochetti sardi (Check out Wikipedia’s history of it)
• 200g of canned Italian or Californian Cherry tomatoes approx ¼ of a large can. I also like Plum or San Marzano tomatoes. You can also use a Passata or tomato puree, Italian or otherwise, but your sauce will be a bit more liquid. When in season look for fresh Cherry tomatoes.
• ½ to 1 cup of tender or baby greens. I like bitter greens like arugula or dandelion, but you can use any baby green like spinach, kale, or swiss chard. Chard is also a favourite of mine as the baby greens add sweetness. Adult greens can be used but cut them into small strips, and cook them for longer in the sauce.
• 3 cloves of finely minced garlic (add more to taste)
• 1/2 cup of pitted olives roughly chopped or sliced
• 4 Tbsp extra-virgin Italian olive oil
• Peperoncini (Red Chili Flakes) to taste. The more you add the angrier it gets!

Sauce:

• Add olive oil to a frying pan and set to a medium heat
• Add the garlic and sauté for 3 minutes making sure the garlic does not burn. Stir occasionally making sure it doesn’t burn.
• Add olives & sauté for 2 min.
• Add the chili flakes and cook another minute.
• Add the greens & sauté for 2 min or until they start to wilt.
• Add the tomatoes
• Turn the frying pan up to a medium high heat
• When the sauce has begun to bubble/boil (usually within 3 minutes) turn to low and continue to simmer
• This is when I put the pasta in the boiling water as your sauce is essentially done.
• Add salt and pepper to taste at this point. Do not add it at the beginning because the olives are salty and as the sauce cooks down it will absorb some of that salt. Toss it with good pasta and always remember to always #EatwiththoseyouLove TM

Pasta:

• Start with 4 liters of unsalted water boiling in a large pot. Start the water boiling before starting the sauce so you are ready to put the pasta in when the sauce is almost done. Add a 1 TBSP of sea salt to season the water.
• When the water has reached a rolling boil it is ready for pasta.
• Follow directions for cooking on the bag. Remember to stir immediately when adding the pasta and occasionally after.

Finishing touches:

• Bringing pasta and sauce together!
• Check your sauce & when it has a good aroma & has thickened, it is ready.
• Add a quarter of a ladle of the pasta water to the sauce and stir it in
• Once the 2 minutes are up, the pasta should be nearly ready (it should be slightly harder than Al Dente, if using dry pasta)
• Save & set aside another quarter ladle of pasta water
• Strain the pasta well and add it to the sauce. Toss or stir the pasta in the sauce for the next 1-1.5 minutes.
• After the 1-1.5 minutes have passed, taste the pasta to make sure it is Al Dente if not add the saved pasta water & cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute
• Serve with pecorino romano cheese (sheep’s cheese) if you can, but parmesan will do in a pinch.

An easy vegetarian dinner recipe that is tasty & healthy peasant cooking in 15 to 20 minutes! If you like this one please share, like and comment. To find out more about our cooking classes Vancouver, check out our home page.

You can watch me make a quick version of this on Global TV.

If you are eating the Pasta Boy Peter way, you cook and always #EatwiththoseyouLove TM

Copyright

Peter Ciuffa

Pasta Boy Peter Inc. 2023