Meatless Monday: One Pot Vegan Pasta

For the past few Meatless Monday posts I have been floating the idea of working towards making Meatless Monday a dairy and egg -free day. For those who missed the original post, the idea stemmed from a desire to become a more ethical eater.

I proposed starting with small steps. The first week I baked a vegan cake. The next week I made Avocado Mayonnaise. 

This week it’s a one, pot vegan meal — “Pasta alla Puttanesca with Chickpeas and Artichoke Hearts” from Shannon at Yup, it’s Vegan. The recipe is my niece’s response to my daughter-in-law’s call for quick and easy recipes to make at home.

It sounded too good to be true, so I tried it. 

This delicious dish is quick, easy, and made up entirely from items that can be easily stored in your kitchen cupboard. The prep time is 10 minutes, cook time 25 minutes. Here is the link to Shannon’s original recipe. 

In the pot, ready to cook

I have a few notes/suggestions. [Are you surprised?]

• I used Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes for extra flavor.
• Vegetable bouillon cubes dissolved in water can be substituted for stock.
• Be sure to stir the pasta up from the bottom of the pan, right from the start.
• You may want to substitute a heavy pot for the skillet, unless your skillet is REALLY large.

This recipe offers the added benefit of conserving water, a particular concern for those living in drought-stricken California where Governor Jerry Brown imposed water restrictions last week. 

For years cooks have debated whether or not the amount of water traditionally used to cook pasta is really necessary. The pasta cooking water ends up being poured down the drain [You can’t turn pasta water into soup stock.] and the larger the pot of water, the more energy is required to bring it to (and keep it at) a boil.

The liquids added to this dish stay in the dish. AND, with just one pot there are fewer dishes to wash.

There is one more bonus as well. If you are serving this to just two adults (even with hearty appetites) you are likely to have leftovers. They are excellent when reheated in the microwave, just the sort of meal new parents need! 

Come back next week for a good for a 60 second vegan dessert certain to please almost everyone.

Happy Meatless Monday!  Have a great week.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”