Tempeh Spaghetti (Gluten Free!)

Get ready for another good one. If you haven't experimented with tempeh yet, I strongly recommend it. The flavor and texture really resemble ground meat and I love adding it to any "hearty" dishes to give that extra man-friendly meatiness.

Tempeh is a fermented meat alternative that includes organic soybeans, millet, rice and a variety of whole grains. As a staple food in Indonesia used for over 2000 years, tempeh is very high in protein, manganese, copper, phosphorus, vitamin B2 and magnesium. There is also quite a bit of fiber in this product, allowing it to control blood sugar levels and maintain satiety ("feeling of being full"). Just to note, however, that since it is a soy product you may want to limit your consumption of tempeh to 2-3x per week at most if you have elevated estrogen levels or are told by your health provider to limit your soy intake.


Now for the recipe...

Tempeh ("temp- heyy!") Spaghetti

1/2 package of organic brown rice spaghetti
4oz (1/2 package) of 3-grain Tempeh
1/2 C organic pasta sauce (I used tomato and herb)
1T organic tomato paste
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 large onion
handful of fresh basil (5-6 leaves)
1t dried oregano
1/2t rosemary
1/2t salt and some ground pepper
1T olive oil

Optional: crumbled goat cheese and a couple dashes of sirracha to garnish. yum.

Directions: Sautee onions and garlic in medium-heat pan with olive oil. Boil water in large pot for pasta. Next, add crumbled tempeh to sautee pan, as well as herbs. Once tempeh is golden, add pasta sauce and tomato paste. Stir until well combined, then add salt/pepper. Strain pasta once cooked and add sauce over pasta w/ cheese and sirracha if desired. Enjoy.

^our basil plant:)

Bon apetit!