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Vegan Cauliflower Recipe: Sicilian Sauce

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I adapted this vegan cauliflower recipe for Sicilian sauce to my family’s low salt, plant based diet – and got great results. It’s easy to make, tastes wonderful, and gives us another meatless meal for Lent. If you are a Christian seeking Friday dinner ideas for Lent, or simply have a head of cauliflower you want to use up, this recipe is wonderful!

What Is Sicilian Sauce?

There’s no single definition of what makes up a Sicilian sauce. This recipe was in an old cookbook that I had from my early forays into a vegetarian diet. The recipe was called Sicilian Cauliflower Sauce. Generally speaking, Sicilian sauces are tomato-based and include other in-season ingredients.

Low Salt Pasta Sauce and Vegan Cauliflower Recipe

This vegan cauliflower recipe looked like it would be tasty, but the original one was packed salt and was far from healthy. I adjusted it so that it is virtually “salt free” except for the naturally occurring salt in the vegetables and the pasta. And, of course, you can choose your favorite low-salt pasta to get the salt quotient even lower.

No-salt tomato sauce and diced tomatoes are easy to find at the grocery store. We purchase ours at Walmart. If you are new to a low salt diet, it may take a while for your taste buds to adapt, but once they do, you will never need quite as much salt in a recipe again.

The original recipe added salt, used salt infused canned tomato sauce, and include canned black olives. I omitted the salt and the olives and switched it to no salt added tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. The main flavor comes from the onions and garlic.

But It Has Wine!

Yes, it does. Wine cooks down so that the alcohol evaporates. It adds a subtle layer of flavor but does not include enough alcohol to be noticeable.

Sicilian Sauce with Pasta

Sicilian sauce with pasta is a vegan – vegetarian – meatless meal that's both filling and delicious! Packed with vegetables, it's a feast for the sense, easy to make, inexpensive, and tasty.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian, Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
  • 1 can no salt tomato sauce
  • 1 can no salt diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 head cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
  • 1 onion diced
  • 4 garlic cloves cloves, diced
  • 1/2 cup red wine choose your favorite wine
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin

Method
 

  1. Set a pot of water on the stove (approximately 8 cups of water) and bring to a boil.
  2. While the water is coming to a boil, diced the onions, garlic, and cauliflower
  3. Once the water boils, add pasta and cook according to package directions.
  4. In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil and add onions. Sautee 5 minutes. Add garlic, stirring constantly, and cook or 30 seconds.
  5. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and cauliflower to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
  6. Add the red wine; stir and reduce heat to simmer. Cover the pan and cook 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
  7. Serve immediately once pasta is cooked and the cauliflower is tender. Drain pasta, and place sauce immediately over over pasta. Serve. Each person can add salt to taste, if desired.

Notes

This is one of my favorite Lenten meals and a staple in our plant-based diet. The sauce tastes wonderful and the cauliflower chunks give it a hearty, meaty texture without the meat. It’s packed with vitamins and micronutrients. An added bonus: if you are on a salt-free diet or a heart-healthy diet, using no-salt tomato sauce and no salt added diced tomatoes makes this a low sodium meal. The only sodium is what occurs naturally in the sauce ingredients and the amount in the pasta. 

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