Miss the smooth, glossy comfort of a creamy pasta sauce? Look no further!
Food engineer: Jed Coiley.
*Feeds two. Whip-up and serve in a chipped bowl in 20 mins. £1.25 per portion*
Ingredients:
· 100g cashews (try Aldi, Morrisons or Lidl for cheap prices).
· 250ml non-dairy milk.
· 1 tsp mustard.
· 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (from local health food store).
· 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.
· 1 onion.
· 2 garlic cloves.
· 150g mushrooms.
· Enough pasta for two.
Method:
1) Cover the cashews with water and boil for about 10 mins until soft.
2) Dice the onion and garlic nice and small, add to a low heat with a dash of oil.
3) Chop the mushrooms into small chunks and add to the pan when the onions are translucent.
4) When the cashews are soft, add them to a food processor (or blender) along with the non-dairy milk, mustard, yeast, and cayenne. Blitz. Depending on how hardcore your machine is, this will take differing amounts of time. You want the sauce to be creamy, verging on glossy.
5) When the veg is cooked, add the sauce. If sauce mixture is too thick, don't be afraid to add a dash more non-dairy milk to loosen it. Season with salt and pepper.
6) Stir sauce mixture into cooked pasta and enjoy the ultimate comfort food.
Top-tip: To be 5% more Italian, add the pasta to the saucepan just before it's completely cooked and finish it off in the bubbling creamy goodness.
Level-it up with a shallot topping. Slice the shallots and add to a hot pan with plenty of oil. Season heavily with salt and smoked paprika and cook until some of the edges are getting charred. Sprinkle over your carbonara for a salty, smoky k i c k.