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Pasta with fresh tomato sauce, green beans and Cauliflower.

June 20, 2006 on 8:06 am | In Recipes | No Comments

Here is my pasta with fresh made sauce and vegetables.

If you cook the tomatoes to long they gets mushy and it doesn’t look real prety, but it tastes very good.
1 lb dried pasta
1.5 lbs tomatoes concassé (peeled and diced)
1 large onion diced
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 carrot small dice
3/4 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
3/4 lb green beans cleaned trimmed, and cut in 2 to 3 inch pieces
½ head of cauliflower cut in bite sized pieces
1 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
Fresh basil chopped (10 to 12 leaves or to taste).
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Cut up all of the vegetables. Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to boil. Add salt if desired. Cook green beans until crisp but tender. Remove beans and set aside. Add cauliflower to the water and cook till just starting to get tender, remove, and set aside with green beans. Use green bean/cauliflower water to cook pasta. Saute onion carrot, and garlic until tender in a bit of olive oil. Add thyme and bay leaves and Tomatoes. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. When pasta is ready, drain and set aside, save ½ cup of pasta water. Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, cook for another 2 minutes and add basil. Add green beans, pasta and cauliflower and mix well. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Use good Parmesan cheese not the stuff in a can. Yes it may cost just a bit more, but you are worth it 

  
This is great with lots of fresh vegetables and just a touch of fat. Diced celery also goes nicely with this sauce. Experiment, try using cherry tomatoes, or add a bit of fresh oregano or rosemary (don’t put too much rosemary as it can be overwhelming). Perhaps a nice spicy Italian (turkey if you want to keep it healthier) sausage. Shrimp sauteed in garlic makes a great addition as well. This makes a lot of pasta and is easily enough for 8 people. It goes great with mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumber and a simple vinaigrette.