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Another new cookbook arrived from Paperback Swap a few weeks ago – The Best Vegetarian Recipes
With just 15 minutes to make a grocery stop, I pulled into my favorite store. Surprisingly, they were out of fennel. Leaving empty handed and with no time to shop elsewhere I mentally searched the contents of my pantry.
A Well Stocked Pantry
The art of a well stocked pantry is a relentless pursuit, one that all good cooks pursue with fervor. Savory meals can be put together with little effort, desserts can be made from scratch with a few key ingredients on hand.
Knowing that I always have several cans of diced tomatoes on hand, I settled on a simple marinara sauce and consulted my new book for some more inspiration. I’d just cooked a big pot of chickpeas and had a bag of my newest favorite convenience food – frozen organic broccoli florets from Costco. Adding some gluten-free Tinkyada Pasta Spirals
Recipe Notes
Most marinara sauces use some form of sugar to balance the acid in the tomatoes. Instead of sugar, I used liquid stevia. If you don’t have any stevia, use any sugar substitute you have on hand. Start with a little, then taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. The cinnamon helps to make the tomatoes a little sweeter – no one will know it’s there.
Visit The Gluten Free Homemaker for What Can I Eat that’s Gluten-free and find more meal ideas.
What are your favorite in-a-pinch meals?
This recipe is adapted from The Best Vegetarian Recipes.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive, divided
- 3 large garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
- 2 (28 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
- 10 drops clear liquid stevia (I like NuNatruals)
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pound frozen broccoli florets
- 1 pound gluten-free pasta spirals
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- fresh grated parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan large enough to accommodate all the tomatoes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute until it’s fragrant. Add tomatoes, 1/2 cup of reserved juice, then stir in stevia, oregano, basil, thyme, and cinnamon. Simmer, stirring often, until sauce has cooked down is fragrant. If you want a drier marinara sauce, cook it longer. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add broccoli and stir for one minute. You just want to start the cooking process. Remove broccoli and set in a bowl. Bring water back up to a boil and add pasta with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir to coat. Cook until al dente according to directions on bag.
- When pasta is nearly done, add broccoli and chickpeas. Heat through. Drain cooked pasta. Toss pasta and sauce. Top with parmesan cheese if desired.
Enjoy!
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Lisa's Gluten-Free
posted on February 23, 2010 at 10:23 pm
As always, you have another winner here.
That looks very yummy and healthy.
Great job. I love your recipes.
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SnoWhite
posted on February 24, 2010 at 7:07 am
that looks great, Amy!
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Alta (Tasty Eats At Home)
posted on February 24, 2010 at 7:52 am
Sounds healthy and tasty! I try to think about what’s in my pantry in such situations, and yes, a well-stocked pantry is essential. I have that. However, I’m not so much on the well-organized pantry! Working on it! I finally splurged and bought a dozen stainless canisters for my mountain of GF flours – and I plan to organize and take inventory soon. This dish looks great – pasta is definitely one of my “go to” dishes when I’m digging from the pantry. As are beans-and-rice type dishes. I also have been known to make nachos out of leftover meat from the previous evening, a can of beans (ALWAYS have a can or two in the pantry!), and whatever other toppings I can gather.
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Dawn Hutchins
posted on February 24, 2010 at 2:28 pm
I love this, it looks simple and delicious. Anything with chickpeas and broccoli are right up my alley.
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Alea
posted on February 24, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I think this looks both wholesome and delicious! In fact, I’m starving; this might be my lunch today. Off to check the pantry…
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Zeke
posted on February 24, 2010 at 3:13 pm
That cinnamon trick is pretty nifty. I always wondered how to cut back on the sweeteener when making marinara.
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Christy
posted on February 24, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I love love love garbanzo beans. I wish my family did too, they just politely eat everything else and leave them on the plate or in the bowl. I would never have thought of cinnamon – what a great addition.
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Michelle
posted on February 25, 2010 at 8:32 am
Hi Amy, I wanted to link to your blog . . .I thought I got the idea to cook brown rice in the oven here and I want to link to you. You did have a recipe where you told how to make brown rice in the oven, right? Let me know so I can link to your blog. thanks
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Amy Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
@Michelle, Hi Michelle – You’re so sweet! Here’s the oven-baked brown rice recipe. Send me a link to your post – I’d love to see it. Hugs to you.
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Kim
posted on February 25, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I love vegetables & marinara over pasta! I will put chickpeas in anything, too!
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Linda
posted on February 26, 2010 at 12:04 pm
The photo looks so colorful and delicious. Thanks for linking this to “What can I eat that’s gluten free?”
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Shea
posted on September 29, 2010 at 9:48 am
This looks very good – I’m gonna have to make it. I’m a broccoli addict!
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Amy Reply:
October 2nd, 2010 at 5:15 pm
@Shea, I love broccoli, too. Sometimes I roast it in the oven, other times I steam it, we eat it raw, and cook it on the stove top. It’s just all around good.
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Kirsten
posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:26 am
Amy, you mentioned a “stew” with swiss chard, chickpeas, leeks, and fennel, do you have a recipe you can share for this? Love all four of these ingredients.
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Amy Reply:
September 16th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
@Kirsten, Not on the site…I should post it the next time I make it. It’s so darn good.
Hugs,
Amy
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