Healthy vegetarian spaghetti?

Question

Does anyone know how to make a good home made vegetarian spaghetti? I want to try a spaghetti that is home made and that is also healthy instead of pre-made ingredients that are added to spaghetti. Also, do you have a good spaghetti sauce recipe or do you have to buy that at the grocery store?

Answer 1

I just had to comment on this offended Italian, because if you ever go to Italy, quality spaghetti sauce it made with tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, basil, and perhaps a pinch of sea salt. Nothing else. Some may grate a little parmesan on top; some won't. Adding meat etc. to a tomato sauce is just overkill and only bad cooks overkill the natural flavour of foods.

Anyway, I was talking to a pasta maker I know who owns an Italian restaurant and he doesn't use any eggs in his noodles. He says that people who do, don't know what they are doing. I've never made hand-made spaghetti noodles at home but have made other types (just rolled out and cut), and for me it's much easier and cheaper (unless making huge amounts) to buy them at the store. Lots of other kinds of spaghetti other than durum flour too. I quite enjoy the flavour of whole wheat spaghetti.

Answer 2

As far as sauce goes: one tin of tomato paste plus one large tin of chopped tomatoes ends up being the right consistency for a base...

I start by sautéeing chopped onion in olive oil -- then add bell peppers and mushrooms, then throw in the tomato what-not, and simmer it, usually adding some zucchini, eggplant, even grated carrot.

And the usual herbs and spices.

It's not difficult at all. The chunkier the better, I think; I made a very vegged-out batch of this the other day, and realised I eat toddler-sized portions of pasta that work out to a decent plate of food given all the chunky sauce on the plate.

I've never found a comparable store-bought sauce, and that includes expensive 'gourmet' types, labelled 'chunky.' They're never chunky enough...

Try heating some chopped garlic in olive oil, and stirring fresh sliced plum tomatoes around in the pan until they're hot, and dumping that on your pasta -- fresh, healthy, and very simple. They have to be good tomatoes, though, not the cardboard winter supermarket kind.

Answer 3

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Recipe By : COOKING LIVE SHOW #CL8737
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cooking Live Sauces

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2/3 cup olive oil
2 onions -- minced
4 cloves garlic -- peeled and minced
3 28 ounce can whole peeled Italian plum tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper


In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add
the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour in the
plum tomatoes and stir to combine. Add oregano, basil,
sugar and salt and pepper and mix well. Bring to a simmer
and cook for 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow
sauce to cool for 15 minutes.

Pass the sauce through a food mill or puree in batches in
a food processor. Caution: proceed with care to avoid
being burned by the hot sauce. Return pureed sauce to pot
and heat to serve.

Yield: 6 cups

Answer 4

Make your own home made pasta - its more than easy:


2 - 2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil


In a bowl, mix dry ingredients and make a well. Beat liquids and pour into well. Mix dry ingredients until dough forms and as much of the flour as possible is mixed in. Turn out on a floured board or table. Flour your hands and knead dough until smooth and elastic, dusting your hands as needed.
Roll into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap (or cover with a wet towel), and allow dough to rest 10 minutes. Cut into four pieces and shape into desired pasta. If dough gets sticky, lightly dust with flour.

Try replacing half of the flour with buchwheat or any other version of flour.
Serve with a fresh tomato sauce made of ripe tomatoes, an onion, some garlic, and bail or origani. Don't cook, just heat through and add a bit of virgin olive oil before you serve it.

Answer 5

...the very simples sauce is to heat a tin of whole tomatoes - mash them up with your potato masher; add a chopped onion; basil; tomato paste...., salt and pepper and a tsp of sugar, and simmer until onions are cooked

then; add whatever vegetable you like - canned mushrooms, chopped zuchini, any leftover veggies already cooked...and heat thru...

you can also use any spaghetti sauce recipe and just leave out the meat....

we use both: if i have the time I make my own sauce, if busy buy the sauce at the store - they have some really nice ones now - if you want, you can start with a bought sauce and add things from your fridge...

Answer 6

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 (28 ounce) cans tomatoes
1 (12 ounce) tomato paste
4 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1 cup textured vegetable protein

Simmer about 2 hours.
Serve with your favorite pasta or use in lasagna.

Answer 7

try whole wheat spaghetti. it doesn't taste the best but it is much healthier then regular. i also like to add mushrooms to my spaghetti sauce. as far as the sauce itself i cant help.

Answer 8

Sounds bad, but this is very tasty...just heat a can of peas, use the juice as your sauce, and mix the pea with the spaghetti.

Answer 9

Look for RAW THE UNCOOK BOOK Juliano




http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Uncook-Book-Vegetarian-Food/dp/0060392622

Answer 10

I love this site,
http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/pasta/
you can also go to home page and find even lots of more food home made.