Vegan Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta

Serves 6, Total time 45 minutes

In all honesty, this recipe evolved from a what’s-left-in-the-cupboard situation however was received with rave reviews & has now become one of the most requested dinners in my household. The recipe below is how I made this dish, however it is extremely adaptable dependent on what vegetables you have available to you - the only constants required are garlic, mushrooms and brown onion - everything else can be changed up.

Image Source: https://www.sipandfeast.com/garlic-mushroom-pasta/
(This image is an example of how the finished product could look, linked recipe is different.)

Ingredients:
2 small brown onions (or 1 large)
3 cloves of garlic
1 packet of chestnut mushrooms
1 leek
500g dried pappardelle (if vegan, check to make sure it doesn’t contain egg)
1 packet of on-the-vine tomatoes
1 packet of spinach
Sea salt flakes
Cracked black pepper
Olive oil
Oatly cream (or similar vegan cream alternative)
Fresh basil
Fresh parsley

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and boil the kettle.
2. Finely chop the brown onion, leek and mushrooms and add to a large saucepan on medium heat, with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Line an oven-proof tray with baking paper & spread the tomatoes across the tray. Cover with olive oil, sea salt flakes & a crushed clove of garlic. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Add the remaining two cloves of crushed garlic to the vegetables in the pan and turn down the heat. Simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.
5. Add the pappardelle to a different pot with a pinch of sea salt. Cooking time is dependent on the packet instructions.
6. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and add to the saucepan of vegetables. Make sure to scrape all the garlicky olive oil into the pan too. At this point, add the oatly cream and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes on low-medium heat.
7. Add a generous pinch of sea salt, 1 tsp chilli flakes (more if you prefer it spicy) + some ground black pepper to the mixture. Mix well. Then add the spinach and stir frequently. Allow to simmer until the mixture is at the consistency you want.
8. Drain the papperdelle and add to the veggie mixture along with 1 cup of the starchy pasta water (this will help the sauce stick to the pappardelle).
9. Finely chop fresh basil and fresh parsley and mix through. Add salt + pepper to taste.
10. Serve and garnish with basil, parsley and chilli flakes.