Brussels Sprouts with Fennel and Carrot (waterless), served with Smoky Tempeh and Tricolor Strozzapreti (No Added Fat)

I had a little bit of tricolor (with spinach and tomato) strozzapreti pasta that cooked in 14-18 minutes, and my wife reminded me that we had some Brussels sprouts that should be used. I didn't have enough pasta for all of us, so decided to add some almost-immediately cooking Maifun brown rice noodles in the final minute of cooking the pasta and serve it with marinara sauce.

I also sautéed in no oil on a cast iron pan some smoky tempeh. Incidentally, I was excited to find online the once-discontinued but now apparently available wild rice tempeh, which used to be my favorite.

I made a waterless main course. Here is what I did:


Ingredients

• Medium red onion (yellow would work, too) cut into 3/8" half moon slices
• 4 carrots cut into 3/8" slices
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts (a bit over 2 dozen sprouts), halved
• (Optional) 1 small fennel stem cut into 1/4" slices
• Salt (I used about 1/4 t) and dried oregano (I used about 1/2 t for a strong accent) to taste

Process

1. I put, in order, the onion, carrot, Brussels sprouts, and fennel into my high quality Saladmaster large stock pot that I had gently warmed on medium heat for a few minutes.
2. I put the lid on the pot and continued heating on medium heat till the vapor release valve started rattling, then I reduced the heat to low till the rattling went away and cooked for at least 20m.
3. When I was ready to serve, I removed the lid and mixed, along with the seasonings.

Results

I loved the vegetables! I should cook waterlessly more often - it's so easy and the food comes out tasting so rich. We all enjoyed the dish, but my wife wanted more than just the smoky tempeh for a crispy accompaniment. The pasta was good, as was the tempeh.

Ideas for the future

I had considered making a miso-based sauce for the vegetables. That may have been tasty, but I thought that the salt and oregano were just right to make the main course luscious. I wonder what a crispy vegetable like bok choy, maybe added just in the final minute or two of waterless cooking, would do for a dish like the main course.