Almost Vegan: Coconut Prawn Pasta

This dinner is one of our favorites! I created it when I was first looking for ways to cut dairy out. At first, I was at a loss, like "Do I really know how to make anything without cheese or milk or butter?" So it was a very slow process. We just ate our usual meals and then I would throw in something new every couple of weeks (I think that's all my husband would have put up with anyways). One day, I was inspired by a can of light coconut milk at Trader Joe's. I brought it home and went to work on a new sauce. We have never been particularly fond of alfredo or cream sauces around here, so I decided to mix it with some tomato sauce to see what would happen. The result was delicious!! We now eat this at least once a week - it's our 'fancy' dinner, for a night when we feel like we really need a boost. To make it even fancier, add some fresh basil to the top before serving!

Just a side note on prawns: there have been recent new stories about farm-raised prawns and the likelihood of toxic chemicals, sewage and antibiotic residues. This was one of the foods I was being 'laid back' about and have recently taken more interest. We now use wild prawns and have simply cut back on the number we use to make up for the price difference - healthier all the way around! For those of you who don't want to use prawns, I think this would be great with mushrooms or tofu as well. Let me know how it goes if you try one of these!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion - sweet, yellow or red will all taste great

1 can light coconut milk (15oz)

2/3 can tomato sauce (around 10oz)

3-4 cloves garlic

some basil - dried or fresh (or both)
salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil or Canola Oil for the pan

12 wild prawns

whole wheat spaghetti

Directions:

1. Boil water in a pot for the spaghetti.

2. Cut the onion in half and then into long strips.

3. Heat oil (I use Canola Oil) in a pan on medium-high heat and add the onions. Sautee onions until they are very soft and brown. I cook them until they are well-carmelized, which brings out the sweetness and adds to the flavor of the sauce. Add garlic and cook for 1-2min.

4. Add coconut milk and cook with the onions for 3min.