Vegan Tutto Mare (A Restaurant Fish Tale)

This pasta sauce works well with a thick noodle. . . helping to hold the sauce!

Years ago I was introduced to this wonderful pasta dish in St. Louis--Tutto Mare. St. Louis has a rich legacy of Italian restaurants--the place to go is called The Hill--as in this geographic location is the cat's meow as far as Italian culinary delights and selections go. As its name implies, this dish is a "fish pasta" (I was unaware what this meant at the time). First, let me tell you what lead me to create this as a vegan dish--sans the fish. Yesterday, when the sun broke out for the first time in five days, I just had to get outside and run. I got in 5 miles--hills and speed. I kept my pace at about 10:40--not bad, but just right. I'm running a 5k Turkey Trot next Thursday so I need to keep my pace and endurance up. Would it be nice to medal again--YES! With the past week's gloomy weather heavily impacting my sweet tooth, I had been hitting the gym vs. running outdoors. This is not my favorite venue for running, and if you talk to most runners, they might agree that treadmill running is like rowing a boat through mud. I would rather not. When I finished my run, I was famished and craved a good pasta. Pasta is to running like chocolate is to soy milk!

I used to love creamed pasta dishes, that is, pasta slathered in heavy cream and lots of butter and garlic. But alas, this sort of eating will add pounds and kick the old cholesterol off the chart. But I could not resist ordering it on the few occasions when we would dine out. So Tutto Mare came to mind yesterday. So did stuffed canneloni, but I opted for the fish sort instead. This dish traditionally will have various types of fish tossed about in a creamy sauce--sometimes the sauce has a tomato bend, sometimes just cream. Shrimp and clams and scallops usually make an appearance with lots of onion, basil and garlic. It usually arrived in a large bowl, enough to feed the entire table--and usually I'd end up taking it home for noshing on the next day.

So I set out on this adventure to replicate my own version of Tutto Mare. I bought some really fun pasta noodles a few weeks back--thick and hallow in the middle--like straws. I used this pasta for this dish because I thought it would make for a lovely contrast and that the hearty noodle would really emphasize the sauce--it worked well! Here is what I came up with. I think I hit the nearest mark possible. If you decide to try this, be sure to check your pantry for Nori Seaweed sheets and for either a package of Match Meats Crab (which is what I used) or a package of Extra Firm Tofu (as you can make mini-crab-like cakes from tofu as well--by adding crumbled Nori seaweed into the mixture).

Vegan Tutto Mare (A Restaurant Fish Tale)

Making the 'vegan fish' part

10 oz. of your favorite wide noodle pasta cooked al dente (reserve a cup of water from cooked pasta)
Olive oil--if you have lemon flavor--that will work beautifully
*1 package Match Meats Crab or 1 pkg. Extra Firm Tofu (drained)
*bread crumbs (optional in the tofu mixture)
2 scallions sliced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon spike seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 sheet Nori Seaweed, crumbled
3 tablespoons flour (for dredging the medallions in before cooking)

Preheat oven to warm--for holding the cooked medallions while you work on the sauce. Place either the Match Crab or drained tofu in a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. If you find that your tofu is not coming together for you--just mix in some dried bread crumbs with this--and gently shape into about half dollar size medallions and set on a plate. Heat 2 tablespoons or more olive oil on medium high heat in a medium sized saute pan. Dredge the medallions in flour and carefully place in pan. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes each side. Carefully turn over! When medallions are finished, place on cookied sheet and keep in the oven until ready to serve.

Cook the pasta

Cook your pasta according to package directions--again, a thick noodle would work well for this. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water for use in the sauce. Drain the pasta and place in a bowl tossing with a flavored olive oil if you have it.

Making the sauce part

Some good olive oil on hand
2 onions chopped
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 cup white cooking wine
2 cups veggie stock
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 sheet Nori Seaweed crumbled
6 tablespoons Earth Balance--divided
Spike Seasoning or S & P to taste
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup Silk soy creamer
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy parmesean (more for sprinkling on finished pasta dish)
1 cup of cooked pasta water

Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and seasonings and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Next, add the white cooking wine. Allow this to reduce by about half--it should take another five minutes. Next, add the veggie stock and fire roasted tomatoes and crumbled Nori Seaweed. In a separate small sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the Earth Balance butter and whisk in the flour. Add this mixture to the broth mixture whisking while adding it. This should thicken the sauce quite a bit. Next, add the Silk soy creamer and the balsamic vinegar and keep stirring. Next, take the last 3 tablespoons of the Earth Balance and whisk 1 tablespoon at a time into the sauce. Why do this? Because I found that the sauce needed a bit more heft as I was tasting it. I felt the "fat" content needed a bit more help. Then, I added maybe a half cup of the cooked pasta water. You should eye ball this and taste as you go--your own spin here is what counts--getting the right texture and flavor. Add the 2 tablespoons of soy parmesean and mix well. If needing it, add more soy creamer--your call--taste as you go! Mix again and allow to simmer for a few more minutes. I added a pinch of fine sea salt. This sauce will thicken as it cooks. Remove from heat and allow to sit a bit and it will thicken more. Place cooked noodles in center of plate. Top with some sauce and a few of your "vegan fish" medallions and enjoy!