Yummy Veg Meal #1

Last night, we had Tagliatelle with Tomato and Walnut Sauce I'll give you the recipe and then my comments.

Ingredients:
4 ripe tomatoes
2 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 celeery stick, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper
3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 lb tagliatelle
4 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Using a sharp knife, mark a small cross on the base of each tomato. Place in a bowl and cover with boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain and allow to cool. Peel the skin and discard. Remove seeds. Roughly chop the flesh.
2. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy based pan. Cook the onion and celery for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring regularly. Add the tomatoes, carrot, parsley, vinegar, and wine.Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Five minutes before the sauce is done, heat the remaining oil in a medium frying pan. Add the walnuts and stir over low heat for 5 minutes.
4. While the sauce is cooking, add the pasta to a large pan of rapidly boiling water and cook until just tender. Drain and return to pan. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve the pasta and sauce topped with walnuts and Parmesan cheese.

My modifications: I couldn't find tagliatelle, so I used whole wheat fettucini. I also used balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, and I cooked the sauce a little longer because I like more "mature" sauces. I also added a little chopped garlic at the add tomato phase. Italian without garlic? Not in this house.

Reception:
My kids liked it, except for the onions. Instead of finely chopping next time, I will liquidify them in a food processor. My husband couldn't taste anything because of a cold, but he enjoyed the texture of the walnuts in the pasta and sauce. I thought it was like a bolognese sauce with walnuts instead of meat. Same base elements. It will AWESOME with a capital everything twith riper, fresher tomatoes this summer.

This recipe, and all of our recipes this week, are from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook, which I found at the Goodwill last week.