I just love mushrooms. There is just something about them that to me makes any vegetarian dish complete. Notwithstanding that they are very good for you, they are an important and integral part of this dish that I made the other night. The ones I get in Alice Springs are surprisingly fresh and good, as they are freighted up from Adelaide.
It doesn't happen very often, but this particular evening I had a craving for pasta. Being gluten intolerant meant I decided to purchase a packet of a delicious looking spinach gluten free pasta from our local gourmet food market, known as Fresh in The Desert. Great place to get all sorts of goodies.
I also bought a delicious looking jar of rich, ripe red chilli pasta sauce to go with the pasta. Ingredients of the Chilli pasta sauce? Tomatoes, garlic, chilli, salt, olive oil. No nasty preservatives, just plain delicious goodness in a jar.
After getting home and finishing my workout, freshly showered, hair washed and feeling very refreshed, I proceeded to whip up this little masterpiece which has quickly become a favourite meal. Even better the next day, it is perfect to take to work for lunch.
The other thing I love about this dish, is the way the cooking time of the vegetables is perfectly complemented by the preparation time, ie while the mushrooms are cooking you can prepare the carrots, once the carrots are mixed in you prepare the zuchinni and so on.
Hearty Vegetarian Chilli
Ingredients
10 - 12 good sized mushrooms
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 tin of lentils, rinsed
1 jar of chilli pasta sauce
1/2 cup of water
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 cup of sliced pitted Kalamata olives
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method
Preheat a heavy based frypan on the stove on a medium-high heat. While the frypan is heating slice the mushrooms and once the frypan is up to temperature, pour in the olive oil and then add the mushrooms. Give the mushrooms a quick stir then leave to brown and allow the flavours to develop.
While the mushrooms are cooking, finely chop the red onion, then stir the onion through the mushrooms, then again leave to brown.
Peel and slice the carrot and add to the pan, stir through the onion and mushroom mix, then again leave to brown.
Quarter the zuchinni and then slice. I prefer smaller pieces of zuchinni, as these brown up beautifully and don't get too soggy.
Add the zuchinni and the kalamata olives to the pan, and stir through. By this time, the other vegetables in the pan should be taking on a delicious colour and the aroma should have your mouth watering in anticipation.
Rinse the tin of lentils (either brown or green work very nicely) and drain well, shaking to get rid of the excess water, then add to the frypan and stir through the vegies, cooking for about a minute.
Add the chilli pasta sauce from the jar, then add the 1/2 cup of water to the empty jar, put the lid back on and shake then pour the contents into the pan to make sure you get all the delicious goodness out of the jar.
Stir the chilli pasta sauce through the vegetables until combined, then leave to simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens up again.
Serve with pasta of your choice, although this is just as good and a complete a meal without.
Enjoy!
