Rotini & Basil

White Rose Child's Note:

This is a surefire kid-pleaser, and a great way to try tofu! Originally a chicken dish, a friend of mine adapted it to be vegan- not to mention easy and tasty. Pair with a salad, made while the pasta cooks, and recipe #156751.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 onion , chopped
• 3 -6 garlic cloves , minced (to your taste)
• 450 g regular extra firm tofu , drained and cubed
• 1 (28 ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes or 6 chopped tomatoes
• 1 -2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• ½-1 cup low-sodium V8 juice
• 1 (454 g) box rotini pasta (any small pasta) or 1 (454 g) box penne (any small pasta)

Directions:

1. Note: you can use any type of pasta shapes for this. Penne is really good because the tomato broth goes inside the tubes, yum :-) I also like to do a mix of whole-wheat and white pasta.
2. In a medium pot or frying pan, soften the onion and garlic in water (or use oil if you want).
3. Add can of tomatoes, including their juice. Use a potato masher to smash the whole tomatoes into smaller pieces. Add the tofu cubes, vinegar, basil and salt if desired. Bring to a simmer and partially cover the pot.
4. If you have a little extra time, let this simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover, to let the flavors deepen; then boil the pasta water. If in more of a rush, just start the pasta immediately.
5. Cook the pasta in a large pot while the tomato part simmers. When the pasta's done (just a bit past al dente), drain and return to the pot.
6. Pour the tomato mixture into the pasta, stir and add the V8 if it needs to be juicier. Ready to serve.
7. You may enjoy eating your salad with dressing right on top of the noodles (odd, but yummy!).

Reviews

[Dreamer in Ontario]

This is a very nice vegan recipe. I've never had tofu with pasta before and found it a nice addition. It's so quick to make that it's a perfect weeknight meal. Thanks for posting this recipe. Oh yes, I had my salad on the side :)

[TasteTester]

This is a great recipe. I've introduced a lot of vegetarian entrees to my family in the last few years, and they've come to really enjoy them. This is the first vegan dish I've made. I loved it, and DH and son really liked it but wanted to add parmesan cheese on the top. I said "no," that would negate the whole purpose of vegan recipes. I added a little red pepper to this recipe, but other than that made it exactly as written. I'll double the sauce next time because it is so good. Off I go to eat the part of the dish I saved for a photo -- yum. Thanks for yet another great and healthy recipe.

[ellie_]

This is very good - and for some reason is more spicy than I would have imagined. I changed the recipe slightly by using pureed tomatoes and 1 small can of tomatoes with chiles and also one small can of V-8. I also added some sliced mushrooms to the onions and garlic (using 4 garlic cloves). Next time I will cut the tofu into smaller pieces though - if you couldn't see the tofu you would never even know it was there! Thanks for sharing this interesting way to have tofu.