Florentine Vegetable Sauce with Rice Noodles
Ingredient list:
½ cup or chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
pasta of your choice
2 carrots
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
a few leaves (1/4 cup?) of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste (I start with 1 tsp of salt and ¼ tsp of pepper and then add to taste at the end…)
2 bunches fresh spinach, chopped
optional additions: nutmeg, coconut milk, crushed cashews
Directions:
1. Boil in a small pot: 2 carrots (no peeling necessary-
keep the nutrients in the skin!) with water and two pinches of salt. Cook until tender. Then drain and puree in a food processor,
or simply mash on a plate with a fork. (Don’t have carrots? I have used a
similar amount of butternut with this recipe and it works really well, too!)
2. While carrots are cooking, start your rice/lentil/quinoa
pasta cooking. Cook to be al dente
according to directions. I like to use a whole package of pasta for this
recipe. (If you are buying lentil or quinoa pasta, it does not expand as much
and you may want to consider using two boxes.)
3. In a large skillet (I like to use a large wok to keep my bulky
spinach leaves from falling out later!) over medium heat sauté 1 medium onion,
chopped, with 2 garlic cloves and olive oil.
4. When onion is soft and translucent, stir in pureed/mashed
carrots, 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, a few leaves (1/4 cup?) of fresh
basil (or throw in some dry in place of it), salt and pepper.
5. Wilt the spinach into the skillet with the carrot/tomato
mixture. Let the veggie mixture reduce
over med-low heat until thick enough to have a sauce-like consistency.
6. You can serve by mixing the sauce with the pasta at this
point, or: (optional) stir in ½ cup coconut milk to make it a little creamier
(like a pink sauce), or (optional) add a little grated nutmeg sprinkle over-top
to taste