CREAMY VEGAN MUSHROOM PASTA (& happy belated Food Revolution Day 2016)

In celebration of Food Revolution Day 2016, I decided to revisit my favourite plant-based mushroom pasta. Topped with extra portobello mushroom slices and the most delicious herbed zesty bread crumbs, this is one creamy pasta dish that does not miss the usual dairy suspects. A few months back, inspired by the mushroom fettuccine at Jamie’s Italian (my go-to dish there), I created my own super-easy 100% plant-based mushroom pasta. Though I had no access to the original recipe upon which to base this one, I’m rather chuffed with my humble version (and I do hope that Jamie Oliver would not think me a traitor to the pasta cause by making something untraditional!).

Food Revolution Day was a subdued and thoroughly domestic occasion for us this year. At Marzipan HQ we celebrated by compotting (is that a word?) rhubarb, baking together and following Mississippi Vegan & Christine Wong‘s takeovers of Feedfeed‘s Snapchat account.

Things have been rather busy since then, with our first family holiday as a party of 5 (well, 7 including my parents) happening early this week. It was wonderful. And, to be honest, despite my deep gratitude for all that I have in my life, right now I am longing for more quieter, simpler disconnected-from-social-media days.

Recently I have been reflecting upon my early days here in the blogosphere (with around 7 followers), comparing it to my life on social media today. It’s akin to comparing a horse and carriage ride with a Formula One race. Things were much quieter before. I didn’t feel guilty if I didn’t post. I had time to leisurely browse other people’s posts, respond to every comment, and make comments myself. I was completely anonymous, didn’t self-promote and lacked a degree of self-consciousness as a result. Of course there is something rewarding about having your “work” viewed and acknowledged by others. But there’s also something truly lovely and liberating about creating merely for the sake of it (why I started this blog in the first place).

Yesterday my mum suggested to me that I try to create a schedule so that I don’t overdo the recipe creating/sharing thing to the point where it becomes a full-time + overtime job on top of all my other commitments (I am, after all, supposed to be on maternity leave). My children are very accommodating and genuinely enjoy cooking with me (&/or eating what I make) and my husband is endlessly supportive of any of my pursuits, be they personal or professional. But something has to give. There needs to be time in my day for me… time to simply breathe… and be.

I also have a huge backlog of as yet un-posted recipes which I am keen to get to sharing here with you.

And so, on that note, here is one of them!

❤ MM xx

CREAMY VEGAN MUSHROOM PASTA

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS FOR PASTA 
Olive oil (approx. 2 tbsp)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 portobello mushrooms; 2 chopped, 1 sliced & sautéed (set the sliced, sautéed one to the side)
100 ml white cooking wine
250 ml Oatly iMat
A handful of chopped fresh parsley
200 g pasta of choice, cooked
3 tbsp pine nuts
Generous to-taste seasoning (salt & freshly ground black pepper)

DIRECTIONS FOR PASTA

1. Add a splash of olive oil to your frying pan. Fry the onion and garlic until they are soft and turning translucent.
2. Add the chopped mushrooms, frying until softened. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
3. Add the cooking wine. Allow the alcohol to evaporate and cook until liquid volume is reduced by half.
4. Add the Oatly iMat (or equivalent amount of vegan cooking cream of choice). Allow sauce to simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
5. Add cooked pasta of choice to the pan, tossing to coat with sauce. Add the parsley. Serve pasta immediately, garnished with the sliced sautéed mushroom, a generous amount of the zesty herbed bread crumbs and vegan parmesan if you wish.

INGREDIENTS FOR HERBED ZESTY BREAD CRUMBS
1 thick slice of sourdough bread
1/4 finely chopped, deseeded red chilli
A handful of chopped fresh parsley
The zest of a medium-sized lemon, finely grated
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp toasted pine nuts

DIRECTIONS FOR HERBED ZESTY BREAD CRUMBS

1. Blitz sourdough in a food processor until you have a rough crumb.
2. Add chilli, parsley and lemon zest and blitz for a second or two to combine.
3. In a pan over medium heat, fry the crumb mix in the olive oil.
4. When golden and toasty, tip crumbs into a bowl and combine with the pine nuts.

*The bread crumbs & mushroom sauce can be made ahead then rewarmed, and the mushroom slices can be pan sautéed just before serving.