Broccoli pine nut pasta

September 11, 2012

Some nights you just need a simple and filling meal - we often fall back on the lazy option of Fry's schnitzels but managed to come up with a slightly healthier plan on Tuesday night. We had broccoli and zucchini to use up and Cindy had this easy recipe from It Ain't Meat, Babe bookmarked so we joined the dots. It's incredibly easy - a bit of veggie and tofu chopping and 15 minutes or so of cooking. And it's pretty tasty - soy sauce in a pasta dish struck me as a bit weird while I was making it, but it worked well. In some ways it's closer to a noodle dish than a pasta, and I found it was even better with a light sprinkle of chilli flakes on top. The leftovers were great for lunch the next day as well.

Broccoli pine nut pasta

(adapted from this recipe on It Ain't Meat, Babe)

300g tofu, cubed

3 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 head of broccoli (including the stalk), chopped into bite-size pieces

1 small zucchini, chopped into half moons

1/3 cup veggie stock

250g pasta (we had leftover spirals)

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Toss the tofu in half of the tamari and leave it to marinate while you get started on the rest.

Get a pot of water on the stove for your pasta - hopefully it's boiling for you by the time you need it.

Heat the olive oil in a big frying pan over low heat and cook the garlic, stirring constantly for a few minutes - you want to get it nice and cooked without letting it cross over into burned.

Add the tofu and turn the heat up a bit, stir-frying for another few minutes, until the tofu cubes start to brown up a bit.

Now is a good time to get your pasta in the boiling water!

Tip the veggies into the frypan and stir everything together thoroughly. Pour in the stock and the remaining tamari, cover the pan and let the veggies steam, stirring occasionally. You want most of the liquid to simmer off and the broccoli to be cooked but not soggy.

Drain the pasta and stir it in with the tofu and veggies, along with the pine nuts. Serve with a sprinkling of chilli flakes if you're that way inclined.