Vegan Carbonara with King Oysters & Viv-vera bacon bits!
This is a top notch uber tasty vegan version of this classic dish - no-one will know it's not the real deal - it's so good it will fool them all! This serves between 5 & 6 people depending on portion size.
Equipment
- Large pan
- pasta pot
Ingredients
For the ‘Egg’ Sauce:
- 100 g Raw Cashews soaked 1 hr in boiling water
- 15 g Nutritional Yeast can use 20g
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric can use 1 teasp
- 1 teasp Dijon Mustard can add a little more heaped teasp
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder can add a little more 1 teasp
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder can add a little more 1 teasp
- 1/2 tsp Black Salt Kala Namak - can use 1 teasp
- 250 ml Elmlea or Alpro single cream.
- 125 ml Some extra oat milk to thin the sauce the pasta soaks up some liquid - was 50g, but it was a little too thick.
- 50 g vegan plain yogurt. optional - but helps the creaminess - was 25g
For the Pasta:
- 250 g Spaghetti or tagliatelli
For the Mushrooms & "bacon" bits:
- 1 Tbsp Vegan Butter
- 4 large oyster mushrooms sliced into strips or 5 flat or portobello
- 175 g I.e. one complete pack of Vivera Bacon Bits.
- 4 cloves Crushed Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 150 g steamed petit pois given them around 5 to 6 minutes from frozen. Use less - 100g if you wish.
Instructions
To make the "egg" sauce.
- Add all the ingredients for the ‘egg’ sauce to the blender (or Nutribullet is even better)
- Then blend until smooth and set aside.
- Put the spaghetti/tagliatelle on to cook according to the package instructions – though note the spelt tagliatelle needs more like 11 to 12 minutes though not 7 as on the packet. Same deal with the spaghetti.
Preparing the oyster mushrooms and bacon bits
- Add the vegan butter to a pan and heat until melted.
- Cut the king oysters in half lengthways, then into 1/4's lengthways, then each length into 1/3's. Add the sliced mushrooms, crushed garlic and smoked paprika and fry until the mushrooms are softened.
- Cook the Vivera bacon bits as per the packet – around 6mins on medium heat with a little oil. I used 6 minutes inthe actifry set on 180°C.
- add to the same pan and mix vegan "bacon bits" and mushrooms
- steam the peas for 6 minutes so they are tender
- add the steamed peas to the pan
- add the extra spices - black pepper, paprika and stir as you re-heat a little on a very low heat,
- add the cooked drained spaghetti to the pan
- mix all together until unifomly distributed in the spaghetti
- pour in the blended carbonara sauce
- Make sure they are mixed well.
- Carbonara served with spinach & sauteed courgettes
- Add a sprinkle of black pepper and grated vegan parmesan (violife)
Notes
- I find that all packets of pasta overestimate the quantity needed per person - for obvious reasons - and totally underestimate the cooking time. I usually do my wholemeal pasta for 12 minutes not the 8 on the packet or it's way too al dente.
- This can be too sticky if not enough liquid is added, so don't be afraid to add more water or plant milk to get the consistency right - creamy but not too runny or too thick and sticky - the right balance is very important.
- This will make approximately 600g of sauce. That's a good quantity for 250g or wholewheat spaghetti. I would reccomennd making a double quantity and freezing it in 150g lots in containers. That way you can use it for a tofu florentine/benedict dish instead of Hollandaise sauce - it works pretty much as well. My son loves it on Quorn style katsu curry breaded "cutlets" on toast with avocado slices or tomato slices on top. Half a pack (75g) seems right for that.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!