The guests came and went, the wine was poured and emptied and the good dishes were dried and returned to the armoire. Thus ended another Thanksgiving. So right about now as you may be getting ready to deck the halls, light the menorah, buy the spruce or relearn the seven principles, let me take this moment to pat myself on the back for my first foray into Thanksgiving chef-dom.
Now it's a given that I am always the salad-maker at family functions and, just like my soups, I like a salad filled with stuff. My past salads have ranged from green delights with haricot vert and shrimp to center cut bacon and heirloom grape tomatoes to my more current veganized updates with artichoke hearts and greek olives to chick peas and sun dried tomatoes. However, since my going vegan in 2017, my plate at family functions has been salad-rice-roll-heavy with not much else. So it's with this in mind that I decided to delve into expanding my culinary expertise for family gatherings (if I ever wanted to eat at any of them going forward).
This past June I came across this wonderful pasta company at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City by the name of Explore Cuisine. The company lives up to its name by offering pastas made from a variety of beans and veggies that are unique, naturally gluten-free and packed with good amounts of plant-protein and fiber per serving. Explore Cuisine pastas are essentially just as easy to prepare as traditional pasta but with more nutritional value and flavor. What was nice to experience was actual flavor to pasta. Sure some folks get caught up on the texture and al dente this and that but I've found that while they can be hearty and filling, most traditional pastas are just hefty bases for sauces and toppings. This is precisely why I loved the fact that when I tasted the Explore Cuisine's Organic Red Lentil Penne, I tasted the smoky herbal goodness of red lentils with great cooked texture. When tasted their Organic Mung Bean Rotini, I tasted the earthy weight of the rich in protein mung bean. Explore Cuisine pastas deliver a layer of depth to a dish thereby enhancing the dish to a fuller overall flavor profile.
So how delighted was I when I decided to use their Organic Red Lentil Penne for a delicious vegan Sausage & Peppers dish for my Thanksgiving family gathering. Using the penne, all fresh ingredients and Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Vegan Sausage I came up with a dish even my heavy-carnivorous family members enjoyed. Of course in my rush to get cooking finished before the dinner bell, I forgot to take pictures of the wonderfully colorful finished meal, but check out the deets below for the ingredients to make this great remixed Italian dish using Explore Cuisine Organic Red Lentil Penne.
Vegan Sausage and Peppers with Red Lentil Penne
1 box Explore Cuisine Organic Red Lentil Penne
2 small to medium Red bell peppers
2 small to medium Green bell peppers
2 small to medium Yellow bell peppers
1 large Red onion
5-6 bulbs Garlic
1 package Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Vegan Sausage
1 large sprig Fresh Italian parsley
1 handful Fresh Baby spinach
1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Sea salt
1/2 tsp Fresh cracked Black pepper
1 can Quartered Peeled Tomatoes (optional)
Cook the pasta as per package instructions. Cut the bell peppers and red onion into 1/4-1/2 inch slivers and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, start a skillet over medium heat with a tiny bit of olive or grapeseed oil (about 1 tbsp), dice sausage links into 1/4 inch discs and toss them for about 6-7 minutes (as per package instructions). Next in another skillet, heat up over high heat some more olive or grapeseed oil (about 3-4 tbsp) and cook the garlic until it starts to brown. Then add the salt, pepper, bell peppers and red onion and let them cook, tossing frequently for about 7-8 minutes. Next add your cooked sausage, quartered peeled tomatoes (w/o water) and toss that together for about 2 minutes. Strain your pasta then add it to the skillet with the sausage, peppers and onion and about 3 tbsp of the pasta water and the baby spinach. Toss frequently and let that cook for another 3-4 minutes. Now it's ready for plating with the final touch being a sprinkling of the fresh Italian parsley cut into shreds over the top.
The zest of the pasta really helped add another element of life to this textural dish and using fresh ingredients made a huge different too. It's nice to have a element of flavor in each element of your dish. Explore Cuisine flavorfully saved my Thanksgiving. Find out about Explore Cuisine's full product range and availability now on their website here.
www.ExploreCuisine.com
