A vegan twist on the Italian classic pasta carbonara. Summery peas and spinach are nestled among al dente linguine and a creamy cheese sauce. A simple and mouthwatering plate of carb heaven that is just as good as the original.
The sauce
Make the buttery carbonara sauce vegan by melting margarine and lightly sautéing the garlic until fragrant; at this point my taste buds are instantly on high alert. Next, add oat milk and plenty of nutritional yeast to replicate the rich cheesy sauce of the original. Oat milk is preferable to other dairy free milks; once heated it quickly thickens to a bubbly, creamy consistency. Soy milk is best avoided as it has a tendency to curdle.
Gently whisk to ensure there are no pockets of nutritional yeast and then continue to simmer until the sauce is silky smooth and lightly frothing. This is a fairly thin sauce which I find to be just the right consistency. The sauce lovingly caresses the pasta and is delicate in both taste and texture. If you prefer a thicker sauce, just continue cooking for slightly longer.
The pasta
I’ve used linguine for the pasta; it is thicker and flatter and has a generous bite. Make sure the water is well salted so as to produce the best flavour and texture from your pasta. In doing so I rarely need to season with extra salt at the end. Another tip is not to rinse the pasta once it has been drained. The starch in the pasta helps to emulsify the water and oil, ensuring the sauce coats and binds to the pasta.
The vegetables
Green salad and vegetables signify the height the summer, so I had to add in some fresh greenery since we’re fast approaching the end of the season. Peas are little green beads of nutrition; full of vitamins, minerals and high in protein. Similarly, spinach is another nutritional powerhouse, being particularly high in iron and vitamin K. Finally to finish off the carbonara, stir in a small amount of briny capers and drizzle over a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. This emulates the salty, fatty element of the dish that would ordinarily come from the pancetta.
This is a lovely plant based dish which is perfect for anyone who is a lover of carbs and pasta, and lets face it, who isn’t? Fresh, creamy and indulgent, this carbonara is great paired with a glass of white wine and better yet, some garlic bread, as there really is no such thing as too many carbs.
More seasonal summer recipes
Roasted butternut squash and quinoa salad
Roasted asparagus and chickpea traybake
Let me know how you get on making this recipe by leaving a comment. I’d love to see your creations over on instagram!
Pea and spinach carbonara
Ingredients
- 150 g linguine pasta
- 1 heaped teaspoon dairy free margarine
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 125 mls unsweetened oat milk
- 1/2 teaspoon onion granules
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Black pepper a pinch
- 2 tablespoons reserved pasta water
- 200 g frozen peas
- 100 g fresh spinach
- 1.5 tablespoons capers rinsed
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place a large pan of well salted water over a high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the linguine until al dente, approximately 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile start to prepare the sauce. In a saucepan melt the margarine over a low heat. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute, being careful not to let the garlic burn.
- Add the oat milk, onion powder, nutritional yeast, black pepper and two tablespoons of the pasta water.
- Bring to a light boil, whisk and then simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Return to the pasta. Add the frozen peas in the final minute of cooking and then drain the pasta and peas. Once drained, return the pasta and peas to the saucepan. With the heat off, stir through the spinach until it has wilted.
- Pour over the sauce, rinsed capers and extra virgin olive oil.
- Stir until the ingredients are well combined and the sauce has coated the pasta. Taste and season with salt, pepper and nutritional yeast as needed.