Sunday night is pasta night and has become a regular for years now, mainly because we cook a lot of Indian and it was requested by our children to be guaranteed a ‘normal’ non-Indian meal at least once a week! It started off as a special weekend dish my husband would cook, and slowly my son started helping out by chopping vegetables and now he is in charge and has taken on the important role of making the pasta sauce. This past year, focaccia has become a regular at the pasta table, and recently I have been making my own pasta.
~Marigold (Tagetes patula flowers). The genus name for marigold (Tagetes) comes from the Etruscan god ‘Tages’ – the god of wisdom. It’s common popular name, ‘marigold’, comes from “Mary’s gold” after Mother Mary. In Hinduism, too, the flower symbolizes auspiciousness. The saffron/orange colour signifies renunciation and is offered to God as a symbol of surrender.
The plant’s odour and root hormones scare many animals and insects from the garden. Marigolds are often used in companion planting for tomatoes, eggplants, chilli peppers and potatoes.
sunday night pasta sauce
Preparation 2 hours
Serves 6 – good for 500g pasta
For everyone who has joined us for pasta night!
ingredients
⅓ – ½ cup peanut/olive oil or to generously cover the base of a large saucepan
¼ heaped tsp asafoetida powder
1½ cups/155g celery
2 heaped Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
2 cups/220g carrots
1½ cups/125g red bell pepper
1 x 140g tube tomato paste
1.5 kg/16 medium plump Roma tomatoes
3 heaped tsp fine rock salt
3 heaped tsp jaggery
to serve
half portion home-made vegan pasta
bowl steamed broccoli & kale, or grilled zucchini slices.
preparation
1. Wash the vegetables and finely chop the celery, ginger, carrot and red pepper. Set aside in their own piles on a chopping board. Cut the base off the tomatoes, and cut each tomato into quarters. Set aside.
2. Over medium heat, pour the oil to fill the base of a large pot, add the asafoetida powder – fry for 30 seconds, then add celery – fry until the celery starts to soften, add ginger and carrot, simmer for 3 – 4 minutes.
3. Add in the red pepper, simmer for 3 – 4 minutes more, then clear a space in the middle of the vegetables and squeeze in the concentrate; add the tomatoes and give everything a good stir – simmer, uncovered over medium heat for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. Toward the end of cooking, stir in the salt and jaggery.
If the sauce is very liquid, leave uncovered. Not very liquid; leave covered but with the lid ajar.
4. Once the sauce is ready, roughly puree using an immersion blender. Serve with your choice of pasta, a sprinkling of pine nut parmesan, grilled zucchini, steamed broccoli or beans.
Goodness shared by Stacey, Jonathan & Elijah
