Meh, it's my life :)

Yeah, I like my alliteration.

Anyways, I was feeling a tad more peckish than usual so I decided a healthy, filling dinner had to be on the menu. Before I was a vegetarian, spaghetti bolognese was my favourite, and even after I became a veggie, soy mince was quite cheap in the UK. However, Japan is not known for being especially loving of vegetarians, so I’ve had to adapt the classic bolognese sauce to make it both vegan and affordable. Before I dish out the recipe, I thought I should mention another delicious vegan recipe that I tried out on Sunday. I got the recipe here, and it’s made my top 10!

(I actually don’t have a top 10, but it’s still great)

Better than Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients: (serves 4-5)

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 carrots, cut into tiny cubes

1x 400g can of chopped tomatoes

1/2 can red kidney beans

100g Puy lentils, pre-cooked and drained

150ml veggie stock

6 bay leaves

2 tbsp mixed herbs

salt and pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and fry the onion, garlic and carrot for 7 minutes. Then add the stock, chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, mixed herbs and season well. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes (if you’re eating this with pasta, cook the pasta now!). Add the beans and lentils and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve with an enthusiastic “buon appetito!”.

xoxo.

• Ingredients:
• 400 g fresh pappardelle pasta
• 500 g fresh tomatoes
• an onion
• a clove of garlic
• a sprig of thyme
• 4 tablespoons chopped basil
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper

1) Crush the garlic and chop the onion. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan and cook the garlic, onion and the peeled, chopped and seeded tomatoes. Add salt, pepper and thyme. 

2) Simmer gently for  10 minutes combining all the ingredients together. Then add the remaining oil and basil.

3) Cook the pappardelle in boiling salted water for  3-4 minutes and drain. Serve with the sauce and decorate with some fresh basil.

Ingredients:

400 g fresh egg tagliatelle

100ml milk

200 g tomatoes

150 g frozen peas

2 onions

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

50 g parsley

4 basil leaves

4 mint leaves

1 garlic clove

30 g grated pecorino cheese

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt, pepper

Preparation

1) Boil the peas in a small amount of water in a saucepan with the celery, carrot and some of the parsley, which has been clean and washed, for 25 minutes. Add salt halfway through cooking, and then drain.

2) Chop the garlic, crush and saute in frying pan with the oil. Take it out of the pan and let the onion soften in the remaining sauce. Break it up with a wooden spoon, then put in the remaining parsley. Wash and chop the tomatoes and peas; add the milk, salt, pepper and cook on a high heat for 10 minutes.

3) Boil the pasta in boiling water and salt, drain (when firm but not chewy) and dress with the prepared sauce. Sprinkle the pecorino cheese, mint and basil over the dish to serve.

THIS WAS HARD TO TRANSLATE FROM ITALIAN BY THE WAY!