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FRIDGE-EMPTYING PASTA

Updated: Jan 1, 2019


I spend many hours a day in the hospital following doctors around and learning from them. This can be very stressful because everything is new and exciting and you don’t wanna miss out on anything. Getting to talk to and examine patients as well as participating in the doctor’s morning conferences, scrubbing in on surgeries and so on means that I’m often very exhausted when I come home late in the afternoon. This is where this recipe comes in. It honestly makes me more relaxed about life knowing that I have pasta, canned tomatoes and leftover or frozen vegetables in my kitchen. This way I can always make a quick and delicious dinner.

INGREDIENTS

Serves: 4 (or 2 for dinner and 2 for lunch the next day)

  • Olive oil

  • 1 red onion

  • 3 cloves of garlic

  • 1 red chili (remove the seeds or leave it out to make it less spicy)

  • Vegetables (for example a red pepper, a zucchini, and a tomato)

  • 1 can (400 g) of tomatoes

  • 3 tbsp. tomato puree (a 140 g can)

  • ½ a cup of red split lentils (you can use green lentils just extend the simmering time 30-40 minutes)

  • 1 cup water

  • Spices (for example 2 tbsp. dried oregano, 1 tbsp. paprika, and ½ tbsp. cumin)

  • 1 can of kidney beans

  • Salt and pepper

  • Dried chili and cayenne pepper (optional)

  • Pasta

  • Grated cheese or nutritional yeast (optional topping)a

METHOD:

  1. Chop the onion, garlic and chili

  2. Heat the oil in a pot at medium heat and sauté the onion, garlic at chili for a couple of minutes until the onions are golden and soft

  3. While the onion sautés chop the vegetable (vegetable like zucchinis and carrots can be grated)

  4. Add the vegetables to the pot and sauté for a couple of minutes until soft

  5. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato puree, lentils, water and spices

  6. Let the sauce simmer at low heat for at least 15 minutes until the lentils are soft

  7. While the sauce is simmering cook the pasta after the directions on the package

  8. Finally add the drained and rinsed beans, season with salt, pepper, chili and cayenne pepper, and let it simmer for 5 minutes before you serve it with pasta

  9. Top with fresh herbs and grated cheese or nutritional yeast

  10. The pasta sauce can easily be frozen to save the leftovers for another busy day (just don’t freeze the pasta)