Tofu and Olive Linguine

Ok so this one is quite interesting. I started off just making a puttanesca, but when I realized that I had no capers and that I had some leftover tofu I thought, whatever, let’s just see what happens. The best word to describe the result is a very simple ‘interesting’. It tastes really good, although clearly not one of the best pastas I’ve made. But all of the different flavors make the eating experience quite exciting. With each bite, you start off tasting the sweetness of the onions; but as you chew, the predominant flavor changes to the spiciness of the pepper. And finally, almost as an aftertaste, the pleasant taste of olives to finish it off. Quite a few contrasting tastes, but they all work together very well, and all the while there’s that foamy tofu texture to make it that much better.

By the way, I’ve decided to try and make things more regular, since that’s what everyone seems to say is the correct thing to do. So from now on, I’ll be posting twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Let me know what you think about that, especially if you think it’s a bad idea. Alright, time to eat!

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 400g linguine (or any other kind of pasta you like, although linguine do work really well in this case)
• 1 large red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 hot chili peppers (I know, it’s a lot, but it’s supposed to be spicy! It does depend on what chilis you’re using though, so use however many you think are necessary to make it quite spicy. If you’re just using regular chilis from your local supermarket, 3 or 4 should be about right)
• 120g tofu, pressed for about an hour
• 20 black olives
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ground black pepper
• salt
• olive oil

Preparation (30 minutes)

Slice the onion into thin slices, and peel the cloves of garlic and chop into halves. Throw into a pan on maximum heat with some olive oil, after about 3 minutes, add the chili peppers (chopped into small pieces). After 2 minutes, add the tofu, chopped into small squares, and, using a wooden spoon, stir everything around for a while. As you stir, use your spoon to crumble the pieces of tofu, by the end, it should look kind of like ricotta. Add the olives, chopped into random sized pieces (so leave some whole, some in fourths, some in halves, etc.), add a generous amount of olive oil, and turn the heat down. Now fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil, and throw in some salt. Add the pasta as well, and stir every two minutes or so, then, about 3 minutes before what the pack says is full cooking time, taste the pasta. Keep tasting every minute, and about 1 minute before what the pack says, the pasta should be ready (taste it to make sure). Drain it, toss it back in the pot, and add the tofu and onions and all that. Mix everything well, then add the nutritional yeast and stir it in. Serve (and enjoy) right away!