Rigatoni Puttanesca with Veggie Meatballs - Redeux

I posted a recipe from Vegetarian Times last week that I thought looked great, and one that my Italian boyfriend would mos def appreciate. After getting back from an unexpected roller-coaster of a week filled with sporadic eating of whatever I could find that was vegan, way too much drinking and severe overexposure to second-hand smoke in my old stomping grounds of South Florida, and not yet back into my normal eating/juicing/exercise routine, I decided to make it. One more heavy meal won't kill me, right?

As usual, I mixed it up a bit. I added and swapped some ingredients and, in my opinion, made it that much better! Gotta tell you though, this is a really filling recipe. Even though it looks and smells and tastes so delicious, it was nearly impossible to finish my plate. Of course I did and then felt like I was going to explode until I went to bed. See the sacrifices I make or you?! Anyway, here it is. I hope you enjoy it too!

Serves four after my adjustments (original recipe serves two) and takes about a half hour from prep to plate.

Ingredients:

16 oz dried rigatoni pasta
7 oz (half of 14-oz pkg) soy sausage substitute, such as Gimme Lean (1 cup packed)*
2 Tofurky Italian Sausages chopped into small pieces, or better yet, pulverized in the Vitamix!
1 cup breadcrumbs (I used panko)

2 TBSP Ener-G egg replacer + 4 TBSP water** (Optional. See note below)

2 TBSP grated Parma! "cheese" or any other parmesan cheese substitute, plus more for garnish
1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 C tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
10-15 chopped black olives, optional

*The Gimme Lean on its own tastes too much like breakfast sausage in my opinion, that's why I added the Tofurky links.

**I only needed the Ener-G and water mixture the first time I made these. The second time I blended the Tofurky down very fine in the blender and it wasn't necessary.

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Boil salted water and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, combine soy sausage, Tofurky links, breadcrumbs, Parma!, parsley, 1 TBSP basil, 1 tsp garlic, and pepper with fingers. 

Mix Ener-G egg replacer with 4 TBSP water and knead into meatball mixture if using.

Coat large skillet with olive oil cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. With wet hands, roll faux sausage mixture into 15-20 balls, about 2 TBSP each. Cook meatballs 5 to 6 minutes, or until evenly browned. 

Add tomato sauce, olives, remaining 1 TBSP basil, and remaining 1 tsp garlic. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes. The meatballs broke up a bit, but that's ok!

Drain pasta, and stir into tomato sauce mixture. Divide between four plates, or in our case, two with leftovers for Jeff's lunch and then some. Sprinkle with Parma! and serve with a couple of slices of crusty bread and olive oil.

Buon appetito!