At restaurants I am not the person to order the same dish over and over again. Of course there is one exception to this rule: In our town we have a branch of a chain that serves Italian food. They have a couple of vegan options and still every time we visit that place, I order pasta arrabbiata. It is such a minimal dish that is still so tasty! At the restaurant they make it by frying fresh garlic and chilis in hot oil for a couple of seconds before they add the tomato sauce. And that is, in my opinion, the only secret to a good pasta arrabbiata.
For this homemade version I wanted to do something slightly more fancy. I started by using roasted peppers in addition to the tomatoes and I cooked the pasta together with edamame (green soy beans) to add more protein. The pasta was meant to be very fancy, too. I used dischi volanti: flying saucer pasta. But the they turned out to be a little disappointment. Uncooked they looked like really neat flat snail shells. After cooking they fell apart like a failed NASA project. So while the pasta might look not that perfect, the recipe is absolutely delicious. And look at the colours! I swear this pasta dish will make your grey winter day. Also, isn’t hot food the best remedy whenever you feel cold?
The chilis I used were habaneros and Bolivian rainbow chili peppers. The second is quite an amazing pepper! It comes in different colours with a range from yellow-white over bright red to purple! And since it’s not very easy to find different peppers in Germany where we usually have to settle for one variety called pepperoni, I grab every chili variety I can spot and freeze it. I am a secret chili hoarder.
Protein Packed Pasta Arrabbiata
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 200 g 7.14 oz cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- minced chili peppers to taste
- salt and pepper
- 120 g 4.28 oz dischi volanti or elbow macaroni
- 200 g 7.14 oz frozen, shelled edamame
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Half the bell pepper and remove stem and seeds.
- Place on a baking sheet (cut side down) lined with parchment paper and roast for 20 minutes, or until the skin starts to brown.
- Transfer to a bowl and cover with a plate.
- Let cool completely.
- Peel off the skin and place the peppers in a blender.
- Add tomatoes and purée.
- Heat oil in a pan and fry garlic and tomato for about a minute. Make sure the garlic doesn’t start to brown.
- Add puréed peppers and tomatoes.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Set aside.
- In a large pot, bring 2-3 litres of salt water to a boil.
- Add pasta and edamame and cook according to pasta package directions.
- Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce.
- Serve immediately.
5 comments
Ich glaube ich koche mich gerade durch deinen Blog :)
Super lecker war es und eine gute Verwendung für aufgeplatzte Cocktail Tomaten aus dem Garten.
Ich hatte kein Edamame und habe es weg gelassen, auch wenn es damit sicher lecker ist.
Musste nur am Ende noch einen Schuss Ahornsirup zu der Soße geben- bei mir brauchen Tomaten immer etwas Süße für den letzten Schliff. Wird sicher nicht das letzte Mal sein dass 8ch das Rezept koche.
Hallo Carina, es freut mich wirklich sehr, dass Dir meine Rezepte so gefallen:)
Das mit dem Edamame ist wirklich kein Problem, man könnte auch einfach Erbsen oder grüne Bohnen nehmen. Und das mit dem Ahornsirup verstehe ich. Mein Mann ist auch immer für Zucker in Tomatensaucen. Da sind die Geschmäcker ja verschieden.
It’s good that you have an Italian restaurant that has vegan dishes. I lived in Germany in the mid-90s and I was vegetarian. As Italian cuisine tends to have a lot of vegetarian dishes, I thought Italian restaurants would be a safe bet for eating out. However I discovered that despite asking for either basic tomato or arrabbiata sauce and double checking it was „ohne fleisch“, I would still get dishes that had meat. The waiter would insist that of course it was „ohne fleisch“ as speck or schinken was not considered meat – the pieces were too small :)
I resorted to Lebanese or Turkish restaurants instead. The meat was meat but there were plenty of vegetarian dishes too.
I will try your recipe. The flying saucers look good.
Wow, what an uncomfortable experience!
A lot has changed since the90s though, especially in cities. Many restaurants even have vegan labeled options.
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