Happy Thursday, guys! I hope you are doing well and staying safe in these challenging times. After several gloriously warm and sunny days, here in Bristol, it’s our turn to take some rain and so I have the overwhelming need for comfort, and that includes some comfort food. While I love and am capable of making a wide variety of foods, it is pasta that I always seem to gravitate towards when I want something simple, yet ultimately really comforting, to eat. This is maybe why right now, when things are so uncertain, I seem to have lots of cake and pasta ideas percolating in my head. I shall test them meticulously ( 😉 ) and release them into the world one at a time to sweeten your ‘life in captivity’.
First up is a real classic – spaghetti carbonara – made vegan. It’s not an easy thing to veganise as the traditional version relies on animal products (bacon, eggs, cheese) heavily, but I have come up with a vegan version and I am really happy with the outcome. It may ruffle a few feathers as I have noticed that certain omnivores are particularly hostile when you attempt to veganise dishes that are inherently (very) non vegan. They just don’t get it, do they? Many of us grew up on them and miss the taste of them, we just don’t want to inflict pain on a living being for the sake of our pleasure. Simples. I replaced bacon with meaty king oyster mushrooms, which used to only be available in Asian grocers but nowadays you can easily find them in big supermarkets (I bought them in my local Tesco). I marinated them in a heady concoction of sauces and spices for a few hours and then cooked them on a griddle pan until charred. If you cannot find them, use other mushrooms instead or make facon tofu or tempeh, almond, or coconut flakes – there are many many possibilities, so open your pantry and get creative! As for the pasta sauce, I made a simple, skillet-only and nut-free sauce using olive oil, vegan single cream (you can get it made out of oats, soya or almond) and starchy pasta cooking water – yup, that’s right. Super easy. It’s flavoured with garlic and miso paste for a hint of umami and nutritional yeast for cheesiness. It’s been a big hit in our house and I hope you and your housemates will enjoy it just as much. x
200 g / 7 oz spaghetti (GF if needed) 30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil 1 large garlic clove, finely diced 120 ml / ½ cup vegan single cream** (I like Oatly) 10 g / 2 tsp white miso paste 2 tsp lemon juice or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 2 heaped tbsp nutritional yeast black pepper, to taste salt, to taste chopped parsley, to serve toasted coarse breadcrumbs*** (optional) store-bought vegan parmesan (optional)
***I make coarse breadcrumbs from leftover Turkish pide, which we enjoy on a regular basis. I let it go stale and then crush it coarsely using a pestle and mortar. I keep it in a jar in my pantry. You can do the same with any quality bread – foccacia, sourdough etc. or simply use shop-bought coarse breadcrumbs (like panko).
