RECIPE: Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp’s Wholesome Meat-Free Pasta
There is nothing quite as comforting as a wholesome and homely pasta.
This simple recipe has all of the good stuff, while still remaining as tasty as can be. And not only did I enjoy making it, but it tastes just as good as it looks, too!
The recipe is complete and leaves nothing to be desired, but feel free to improvise according to your tastes and pantry to make it different each time you make it.
INGREDIENTS
Pasta of your choice (e.g. penne, spaghetti, farfalle, etc. – I used tagliatelle this time)
Olive oil (approx. 2 tbsp.)
Mushrooms (1 punnet / 250g)
Baby spinach (1 packet / 300g)
Salt
Black pepper
Garlic
Butter (¼ cup / 60ml)
Red chilli
Walnuts (or pecan nuts as an alternative)
Lemon juice
METHOD
There are 3 parts to this pasta – the actual pasta, the mushrooms and spinach, and the butter sauce.
Boil your pasta as you usually would.
Fry mushrooms in olive oil with garlic, salt and black pepper to taste (2-3 min). Add spinach and wilt (for 2 min), close the pot and set aside.
In a separate saucepan, make the butter sauce by heating butter, adding the red chilli and walnuts to taste, and braising slightly.
Mix all 3 parts together with a generous squeeze of lemon juice, and there you have it!
Pro tip: If you have, add a sprinkle of parmesan before serving for that extra Italian flavour.
Lekker eet,
Elana
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