If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you’ll know what my food weaknesses are – it can’t have escaped your attention that I just LOVE creamy pasta dishes. A few years ago, I might have thought this was incompatible with a dairy-free lifestyle – but how wrong I was! Not only have I found loads of alternatives to milk, cream and butter, but it’s also encouraged me to get really creative with flavours – not just cheesy or white sauces like I used to make.
This one packs a nutritional punch by using pureed chestnut and silken tofu, making it a great source of protein, fibre and other essential nutrients such as manganese, selenium, potassium and copper. The herbs add a burst of flavour and the veggies are plentiful to help speed you towards your five-a-day. The recipe is very versatile so don’t be put off if you don’t have everything, try switching up the herbs and veg depending on what you have in the fridge!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Sauce
- 1 block/300-350g silken tofu
- 1 pack/200g pureed chestnut
- ¼ cup/60ml milk of choice
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- bunch of fresh parsley or tarragon, roughly chopped (or substitute 1 Tbsp dried mixed herbs)
The Rest
- 300g brown rice spaghetti (or whichever gluten-free or non gluten-free pasta you like or need)
- few handfuls of frozen peas (optional)
- 250g mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
- 200g asparagus
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
METHOD
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a splash more milk if necessary to get the mixture moving. Set aside.
- Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions, adding the frozen peas for the final two minutes of cooking time, then drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, cook the rest of the veg. Sauté the onion in the olive oil until soft (about 5 minutes) then add the mushrooms and asparagus and cook until golden brown.
- Add the pasta, peas and sauce to the mushroom pan. Stir together and heat through gently.
- Serve sprinkled with nutritional yeast if using (or grated vegan cheese).
