So in the first of my new posting schedule, today’s recipe is Pasta Italiano.  It’s a dish inspired by my visits to Italy.  It’s a fairly simple one, but perhaps it’s a good place to start:

(OBT) means Optional But Tasty.

Notes:
You can substitute the pasta for broccoli or cauliflower in this, if you need to eat more veg, or if you’re totally off processed foods. With the exception of the actual pasta itself, none of my pasta recipes contain gluten, so if you’re gluten free, replace your pasta with gluten free pasta (or broccoli) and follow the rest of the recipe as normal.

Pasta Italiano:

Ingredients:

1 cup per person (dependent on density of pasta): Your favourite pasta, gluten-free or otherwise,

Half a tin (or about 10-12) olives per person,

1/2 cup of whole almonds,

An onion,

1 carton of tomato passata,

1 tbsp of your cooking oil of choice (I prefer coconut oil),

(OBT): A generous sprinkling of the following herbs: garlic, basil, oregano.

This meal is 2-3 of your 5 a day (depending on portion size), and serves 2.

Method:

Cook the pasta and drain. Put it aside.

Chop the onion in half, then chop it into thin strips, then cut each thin strip into 3 to make little rectangles.

Using the same pan or a fresh one, heat the oil and add the onion.

When the onion is sizzling along nicely, add the almonds, then once the onion starts to go transparent, add the tomato passata and the olives. I like to chop my olives in half but some people prefer to eat them whole. Stir in the herbs and simmer for about 3-5 minutes on a low heat.

Put the pasta in a bowl and pour the sauce over the top.