Morgan, who runs the Little House of Veggies blog, wrote, “I got this recipe from watching Giada on the Food Network. She is so cute and I love her veggie meals when she makes them! It was so simple to make, but looked so impressive. Make this one when you are having guests over!” Morgan also mentions that this is a dish for oregano lovers... Since the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oregano! So if you love oregano, definitely try this one out.
I love the way it looks all baked like that! I have had the pleasure of meeting Giada and she was very sweet. She said she really liked The Kind Diet! Hey, maybe if she gets tons of letters from her fans, aka Kind Lifers, saying how much they would love to see her make more veggie dishes, she just might go in that direction! I have a sneaking feeling that she thinks people want the meat dishes, and that might be why she make them, not actually cause she wants to… just a hunch…
Thank you for the recipe Morgan! And to all of you Kind Lifers – let me know if you try this one out!
INGREDIENTS:
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound whole wheat penne pasta (8 ounces)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
1/4 cup dried oregano
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4-5 very ripe, extra large beefsteak tomatoes, cut in 1/2 inch thick slices
STEPS:
Put oven rack in center of oven.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Grease an 8x8 inch glass baking dish and set aside.
In a food processor, blend together the crushes tomatoes and garlic.
Pour this mixture into a medium bowl and add uncooked pasta.
Also add 1/4 cup of olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Toss until all ingredients are coated.
Line the bottom and sides of baking dish with tomato slices.
Then pour the pasta/tomato sauce mixture in the dish on top of the fresh tomatoes.
Layer the rest of the fresh tomatoes on top, to completely cover the pasta mixture.
Drizzle the top with a little extra olive oil, and bake until the tomatoes are crispy and the pasta is cooked (about 1 hour).
Let dish cool about 5 minutes before serving.
**UPDATE** This pasta dish is AWESOME!!!! I love it so much. I ate the entire dish by myself (over the course of a week) and I can't wait to make it again. Bought the ingredients again today. One of my faves for sure!
Posted by
Alicia Silverstone on Aug 6, 2010
Morgan is the author of a great vegan recipe blog called
Little House of Veggies.
This chowder looks very tasty, as do many of her recipes. I can’t wait to be in a kitchen again and give this one a try!
“Cheesy” Chipotle Corn Chowder
Ingredients
Soup
2 tbsp olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 celery diced
1 yellow onion diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
5 ears of corn, cut fresh from the cob, or about 4-5 cups frozen thawed corn
2 32-ounce boxes of vegetable stock (you will only use 1 1/2 boxes)
3/4 lb. of small baby yellow potatoes, or a few larger potatoes, cubed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeds removed and chopped (these come in a can, and are found near other Mexican food ingredients in the specialty food aisles.)
3 vegetable bouillon (I like Rapunzel brand found at health food stores)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. chili pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
fresh dill, chopped tomatoes, and a few corn chips for garnish
1 batch of cashew "cheese" sauce (recipe follows)
Cashew "cheese" sauce
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours or more
about 1 cup water
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon or regular mustard
4-5 sun dried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance Vegan Butter
pinch salt and pepper
Steps
Cashew “cheese” sauce
- In a blender add the soaked cashews and about 1 cup of water.
- Blend cashews until smooth. You can add a little extra water if you need to help the cashews blend well.
- Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend to mix very well. Your cheese should be fairly thick
- Set aside.
Soup
- Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat.
- Add the olive oil, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and corn and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables become slightly tender.
- Add 1 32-ounce box of stock, plus 1/2 of the second 32-ounce box of vegetable stock. You don't have to measure this exactly, just estimate.
- Add diced potatoes, bay leaf, and all other seasonings except for the "cheese" sauce.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 34 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove the bay leaves from the soup, and stir in your cashew "cheese".
- Cook an additional 5 minutes to let the sauce thicken a little.
- Taste, and add any additional salt and pepper if needed.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls, and top with chopped tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh dill. You can also crush a couple corn ships on top to add to the "corn" flavor too.
Thank you, Morgan!
Update 8/29: I made this chowder - finally - and it is so good! Love it. I substituted Not-Chick'N Boullion Cubes for the vegetable ones. I was also out of garlic powder. Other than that I had everything and it was easy. The cashew cheese was simple to make and tasted good. I think I will use it again on mac'n'cheese and other cheese dishes.
