Hubs’ Favorite No Meat Pasta
For the record, any vegetarian dish that my husband eats without complaining must be a good dish. If he eats it and actually likes it, now that’s a recipe worth making, my friends.
Hubs tells me that I only like “fresh” tasting food, like cilantro, basil, and tomatoes. That’s his code word for, “fancy food.” I like to garnish my dishes with parsley. Hubs says parsley is pointless and complains that it scratches the top of his mouth. He thinks a dining establishment that serves parsley is a “fancy” restaurant.
Hubs likes things simple. Protein. Carbs. Salt. You see, the thing about Hubs is… well, he’s not exactly the pickiest of eaters. And when I say not picky, I mean he’ll take a container of old chicken out of our fridge, stick his nose in the Tupperware, and take a deep breath. If the food passes his sniff test (even with a C-), he’ll eat it. Say it’s a tad sour, but not quite gone bad yet, he’ll place it in his mouth to perform a chew test. As long as the questionable item once walked and breathed and had at least two legs, he’ll eat it. Needless to say, our toilet plunger is not pleased that Hubs grades our refrigerator contents on a bell curve.
Anyway, last night I made a “fresh” tasting pasta that Hubs actually enjoyed. He scarfed the dish down and declared as one of his favorites. I thought I’d share it with you guys in case you ever need to sneak healthy food into the stomachs of your loved ones. They just might love it too. 
Ingredients: Good olive oil (make sure you use the good stuff), basil, 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, garlic, 2-3 oz of goat cheese, 12 oz of camapell— I mean, capanell— err, that box of pasta you see in the picture. Fusilli works well also.
Boil the pasta in salted water and cook the noodles until they are nice and al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, mince three large garlic cloves. I minced five or six. But that’s me. I looove my garlic.
Now, wash and chop your basil leaves. I like to cut them Rachael Ray style. I roll up the leaves into a long bundle and it makes the chopping very easy.
You’ll want about two or two and a half cups of chopped basil. Or whatever your preference. I like basil so I chopped enough to feed a small country with pesto sauce.
Heat about three tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, go ahead and dump the two pints of tomatoes into your pan. Oh wait! I forgot to mention, wash your tomatoes. Oh well. Adds to the flavor, right?
Anyway, the tomatoes are going to sizzle and pop, but just cover them up with the pan lid and let them saute until they begin to soften and some of them start to collapse.
About four minutes into the sauteeing, add the minced garlic into your pan. Make sure you don’t throw it in to early or you’ll have a one big mess of burnt garlic. Let the garlic, tomato mixture keep cooking until the tomatoes are nice and soft, but not totally falling apart. They should still look whole, with a few of them collapsed.
Once your pasta has cooked, drain it and toss it with some olive oil to prevent sticking. I like to use garlic flavored olive oil, but that’s just me. You know I love my garlic.
Now, throw the pasta back into your large pot while the noodle are still hot. Add the 2-3 oz of goat cheese into the pot also.
Add the entire tomato mixture, garlic and all, into the pasta and goat cheese pot. Now, this is the fun part. Take a spatula and toss away. Toss, toss, toss. Toss until all the cheese has melted and mixed into your pasta. Try not to break up the tomatoes too much if you can.
Last, but not least, add the yummy, “fresh” chopped basil. Toss lightly one more time.
Plate and serve! Add a touch of shredded Parmesan, if that’s your thing. It’s certainly my thing. Yum, yum, yum. Un-carnivorous goodness. Enjoy!
