Easy Tomato Pasta with Basil Pesto Tempeh

I wanted an easy to make dish today that still felt luxurious like it had been simmering all afternoon. This hit the spot. This dish is delicious and comes together really easily and relatively quickly. It is also very versatile so if you don't have anything from the ingredients list, feel free to substitute it and to make additions as you like.

The Italian Herbed Tempeh with basil pesto really gives it that extra deliciousness so please add that if you've got the ingredients for it on hand and the little bit of extra time (or you can make the tempeh ahead and just add it).

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 red or green chilli (or chilli powder to your taste)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 400g passata or pasta sauce of your choice
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• salt & pepper to taste
• half of the Italian Herbed Tempeh
• 1 and 1/2 tsp basil pesto

Method

1. Add the onions to a non-stick frypan over medium heat. If you can, try to cook it without oil!
2. Start heating the water for pasta.
3. When the onions start getting brown at the edges, add in the garlic and fresh chilli (if using fresh chilli). Keep frying until the garlic starts to get golden. You can add a tsp of oil to help it along and for that yummy fried garlic taste.
4. Add the chopped tomato and cook for a minute. Then, lower the heat and cook until the tomatoes get soft.
5. Add in the passata or pasta sauce, your seasonings, salt, pepper and sugar.
6. Cook the pasta as per package instructions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the liquid.
7. Keep cooking the pasta sauce for about 15 minutes. Add the reserved pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce (I used the whole 1/2 cup of water).
8. Meanwhile, mix half of the Italian Herbed Tempeh with 1 and 1/2 tsp of pesto.
9. When the pasta and pasta sauce are done, serve it topped with the tempeh and some vegan parmesan cheese.
10. Enjoy!