Technically this recipe is called Pappardelle Cacciatore, but I’m quite lazy when it comes to eating pasta and eating pappardelle or fettuccine really is a lot of effort, so generally I prefer to use Penne or Shell pasta, which is the reason for the name change. The recipe is from “Vegan Planet” and is based on a chicken cacciatore recipe. Vegan Planet is one of my favourite cookbooks and it’s yet to let me down, this recipe was no exception. The recipe actually calls for tempeh, but I wasn’t able to find any tempeh at all in our town so instead I used some vegan sausages (sundried tomato and kalmata olive). It worked quite well, I cooked it the same as the recipe suggested for the tempeh. Personally I think the recipe would be fine with just the vegetables, but tempeh is a great source of protein so I can definitely see the benefit of including it.

Note: The second time I made this I made it with mashed potato instead of pasta and I actually enjoyed it even more that way, so that is definitely an option as well.

Vegan Conchiglie Cacciatore:
(VEGAN PLANET)

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
1 8oz package of tempeh cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 green capsicum, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large can undrained diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon minded fresh marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pasta of your choice

Method:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the tempeh and cook, stirring, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits of tempeh from the bottom. Reduce the wine by one-half on medium heat and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the celery, carrot, capsicum and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, marjoram, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the tempeh and wine and simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

4. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, drain and plate, top with the sauce and serve immediately.