Pasta di Verdure Autunno

When you're training for a marathon, everyone wants to know what you're eating. All the time. And if, oh, say, you mention that you're training for a marathon on a vegetarian diet, they look at you as though you've just told them that you're going to live in Antarctica wearing nothing but socks. Sigh.

However, the New York City Marathon is about 37 hours away, and I am going to make everyone breathe a little easier by eating a big, big bowl of pasta. And I'm going to make myself happy by making up a cool Italian name for it. Of course, I don't actually speak Italian, so if the title of this dish means something other than "Autumn Vegetable Pasta," blame the google translator, not me.

Doesn't it look yummy though?

Pasta di Verdure Autunno

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with basil

1 tsp vegetable bouillon

8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced

3-4 stalks broccoli, cut into florets

2 tsp coarse sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish

3/4 pound gemelli pasta

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place olive oil, onion and garlic into a medium or large saucepan, and saute on medium heat until onion slices are translucent.

2. Pour about half the tomato sauce from the can of tomatoes into the saucepan, and add all of the whole tomatoes. Break them into pieces with your fingers as you add them to the pan.

3. Add vegetable bouillon, mushrooms, broccoli, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, add parmesan, and simmer for five more minutes.

4. While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to package instructions (approximately 12-15 minutes). Remember to salt the water.

5. Drain pasta, divide into four bowls. Top with about 1 cup of sauce per bowl. Garnish with parmesan cheese if desired, and serve!

Serves 4.