Courgette Noodles with Vegan Puttanesca Sauce

Suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion, 
• 4 cloves of garlic, 
• 6-8 olives, 
• 3 tsp capers, 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, 
• 2 stalks fresh basil, 
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, 
• 2 tbsp tomato paste, 
• 1 cup water, 
• 1 tbsp dried oregano, 
• 1 tsp chilli flakes, 
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 
• 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce, 
• 2 courgettes

Method:

• Prepare courgette noodles using a spiralizer or by chopping the courgettes into long thin strips and then chopping those so that you are left with long strands of courgette resembling noodles.
• Lay the "noodles" out on a kitchen towel and pat dry. The key to a successful courgette noodle dish is removing as much water from the courgettes as possible. Otherwise they will leech out all their water when cooked and it will turn your pasta sauce into a bowl of thin soup.
• Dice the onion and thinly slice the garlic. Roughly chop the olives and capers.
• Heat a large saucepan on medium high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Saute the onions for 5 minutes or until they turn soft.
• Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until it begins to slightly brown.
• Add the olives, capers, oregano, chilli flakes, and tamari. (The tamari is there to substitute the rich umami flavour that would be produced by the anchovies in a traditional Puttanesca sauce. The overfishing of small fish such as anchovies has resulted in the collapse of numerous sea lion and sea bird populations around the world (Yale Environmental Review), so this is an important step.)
• Add the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes, followed by the water. Add the whole stalks of basil.
• Mix together and let simmer on a medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes while stirring. Again, you want to get as much water as possible from the sauce to compensate for the water that will leech out of the courgettes.
• Once the sauce has reduced, remove the wilted basil, add the parsley and nutritional yeast, and stir to combine. (The yeast will substitute the tangy flavour of parmesan cheese in the traditional dish.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• On a separate pan, saute the courgette "noodles" for 3 to 5 minutes or until they are soft. If the courgettes are producing a lot of water, you should strain them in a sieve after cooking and then return them to the pan.
• Combine the "noodles" and some of the sauce in the secondary pan. Again, you should not throw all the courgette into the sauce as this will completely water it down. 
• Plate the noodles with some additional sauce and garnish with coarsely chopped parsley.