About the Recipe
Pasta, pasta, pasta!! The best thing about being vegan is that I can eat as much pasta as I want. And, trust me, I do economise on that fact! Saying that, if possible, I try to stay away from pasta with a lot of gluten (not that I’m intolerant but I can see the difference after gluten-overload) as nowadays you can easily find a whole range of different types of gluten-free pasta. I like to experiment with unusual kinds, not just for their taste but also for the visual effect. I just love the look of black pasta dipped in an orange sauce. It’s so simple to make but nothing ordinary.
Ingredients
200g Black bean spaghetti
Small butternut squash
40g cashew nuts, soaked for 2h
200ml almond milk (or any other plant milk)
2 garlic cloves
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot
2 tbsp. rapeseed oil or coconut oil
2 tbsp. rapeseed oil for greasing the roasting tray
½ bunch of coriander, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper to serve
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 220°.
2. Peel the butternut squash, remove the pips and chop into 1.5 cm cubes. Grease the roasting tray with pastry brush, place the squash on top of it and stir it a couple of times so that it’s coated it with oil from all sides. Place in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until the squash is soft and ‘golden’.
3. Place the cashews, milk, garlic, lemon juice, cornstarch, rapeseed/coconut oil, mustard and roasted butternut squash into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour the mixture into a small cooking pan and cook over a medium heat occasionally stirring for 8-10 minutes until it thickens.
4. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti according to its cooking instructions. When it’s ready, drain and then gently stir in the cashew-butternut squash mixture.
5. Serve with the chopped coriander and black pepper on top.