Weekends are for winding down and getting creative in the kitchen (preferably with a glass of vino in hand!). It’s a chance to take a break from your usual meal prep (chicken and broccoli just don’t cut it on a Sunday) and enjoy something a little more, er, exciting.
But this is where most of us get stuck—the weekends really don’t have to be about ‘falling off the bandwagon’ then punishing yourself come Monday morning.
Take this vegan pasta carbonara recipe for example. It offers the same creamy taste of a traditional carbonara pasta, minus the cream and cheese. Instead, flavor is enhanced through the use of nutritional yeast and a few handy tricks with nut milk.
Add in the garlic, parsley and mushrooms and you’ve got yourself a pretty good replica of the classic dish with much healthier ingredients. Try it for yourself this International Carbonara Day… and yes—you better believe it’s a thing!
RECIPE: Vegan Pasta Carbonara With Smokey Mushroom & Black Salt
Courtesy of Panaceas Pantry in partnership with Barilla.
Prep time: 10 minutes, plus soaking time
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews
1⅓cups almond milk
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Small handful parsley, finely chopped
1 cup Swiss Brown mushrooms, sliced
¼cup vegan nutritional yeast (or Parmesan if you really have to!)
1 tsp black pepper
1 packet Barilla Linguine
Method
1. Soak cashews in boiling water for 30 mins, then drain and transfer to a high-speed blender. Add almond milk and blend until very smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium-sized saucepan over a medium flame, then add olive oil. Once hot, add onion and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes or until translucent. Add garlic, and cook a further 30seconds, then add mushrooms and parsley and cook a further 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms haves oftened.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Generously salt once at boiling point, then cook the inguini as per packet instructions.
4. Once mushrooms have cooked down a little, add the cashew sauce, black salt and Parmesan/nutritional yeast. Cook for a few minutes to thicken. Taste, and add a further ¼tsp black salt if desired. Stir the sauce through the freshly cooked pasta, top with extra Parmesan and enjoy.
