Thursday, February 18, 2010

On The Road to Rome - Spaghetini alla Carrettiera

Since I have been attempting to crack the code of a Vegan Angel Food cake (Which I am still working on) it started me thinking about other dishes that can be classified as vegan. This just happens to be one of them. A favorite among the Roman Cart-Drivers (thus the name) who transported wine from the Alban hills into Rome.

I sometimes use Leeks instead of Shallots or Onion or throw in some red pepper flake and a few chopped tomatoes but the basic recipe is the same. Beware of the label on your Panko. I use Kikkoman or Ian's, both of which have extremely simple ingredient lists -- Wheat Flour, less than 2% of the following, Evaporated Cane Juice, Yeast, Soybean oil, Salt -- Most regular bread crumbs have a bunch of additives as well as eggs, butter, Buttermilk or milk solids in them. Progresso, my fav, is in this group. The Italian, Regular and Garlic & Herb all contain dairy ingredients. So does the Parmesan, of course, but I think that kind of goes without saying.. ;)

Spaghettini alla Carrettiera

3 oz (6 TB) Olive Oil; plus a little extra for tossing the panko
1 Large Onion or 2 Shallots; minced
2-3 cloves of garlic; minced
2 TB Flat-Leaf Parsley; Finely chopped
1 tsp Dried Oregano -or- 1 TB fresh Oregano
3 1/2 TB Panko
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
16 oz Spaghettini

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then salt the water.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Heat Olive Oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.

Add Onion, Garlic, Parsley, and Oregano; saute until translucent; seasoning with Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, toss Panko with a drizzle of Olive oil then toast in the oven for about 7 minutes; tossing twice.

Drop the Spaghettini and boil until al dente (about 6-7 minutes)

When the sauce is done, remove from the flame.

When Panko is toasty brown, remove it from the oven.

Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce in a warm bowl.

Serve with a sprinkling of Toasted Panko and a sprig of Parsley.

Mangia!!
~~

7 comments:

DutchBakerGirl said...

Another excellent dish. I love pasta tossed with simple stuff like this. Whoever is Vegan in your life is lucky to have you around!

Patti T. said...

What a wonderfully easy but delicious looking meal. I have always used a brand of Panko that comes from Japan (I think) and recently was given a box of the Progresso Panko bread crumbs, I was very disappointed in them. Who knew there could be such a difference?

Bob said...

Sounds great. I've never had breadcrumbs in pasta, but I can imagine it's wicked good.

Katy ~ said...

If the pasta contains eggs, an it still be considered vegan?

Unknown said...

i love the simplicity of this dish

Anonymous said...

No. Vegans don't use any animal products at all.

Shane T. Wingerd said...

No.... Though if using dried pasta, it should not contain eggs. Just Durum Wheat Semolina and water.