Pasta Primavera with Grilled Tofu

Carrot, celery, bell pepper, and tomato sauce, with beets, served on ancient grain penne.

Recently, I cooked a Chinese stir fry with carrots, celery, mushrooms, and grilled tofu. I loved the flavor combination and wanted to do it again, but was tired of rice and stir fries, so decided to make it into a pasta sauce. I had bell peppers instead of mushrooms, which probably works better with the tomatoes I also wanted to add.

I grilled the tofu separately, as before. For the sauce, I used the wok to stir fry the garlic, onion, and beets, then added the carrots, celery, and peppers in that order, a few minutes apart. I added the tomatoes last, enough to steam. The flavor worked well, with the celery blending well into the tomato sauce, and the tofu not changing the flavor much.

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