Quarantine pasta lunch: a recipe

Hello! Hope you are well in these strange times. I just made this dish for lunch by throwing together some bits and bobs that I had lying around from other recipes, and I was pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. Pasta is my favorite comfort food, and it’s always fun to find a new and quick way to prepare it. This one utilizes tofu feta, for which I just posted a recipe that you should also check out. 🙂

Vegan tomato-basil-feta pasta

• Serves: 2
• Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 oz. fusilli or other pasta of choice
• 1 Tbsp vegan butter
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste*
• 1-2 large cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• a few handfuls spinach
• 3 Tbsp tofu feta
• several leaves fresh basil
• Optional: 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
• Optional: cooked chickpeas or veggie sausage (I love Field Roast)

Instructions

1. Boil pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water.
2. While the pasta is cooking, mince garlic and roughly chop or tear spinach and basil.
3. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add vegan butter.
4. Once the butter is melted, add tomato paste and garlic to the skillet. Fry for a couple minutes or until fragrant.
5. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. If using red pepper, chickpeas, or veggie sausage, add ’em at this point and saute for a couple more minutes.
6. Add spinach and pasta water (starting with 2/3 cup and adding more if needed) to the skillet. Stir to dissolve the tomato paste into the pasta water until a smooth sauce forms.
7. Add cooked, drained pasta to the sauce (or vice versa) and stir to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
8. Divide pasta into two servings and top each with fresh basil and tofu feta. Enjoy!

Notes

*This pasta is also great with a chopped fresh tomato instead of tomato paste and just a splash of pasta water, which forms less of a sauce and more of a juicy, fresh tomato-y delight. Try it both ways!