Monday, April 23, 2012

Vegetable Pasta Carbonara

Vegetable pasta carbonara is an Italian pasta dish with a creamy white sauce, usually with bits of ham and veggies thrown in. It is a dish that I enjoyed many times when I lived overseas in Italy and Germany. I had thought of it recently when I saw a jar of carbonara sauce at Kroger, but I was saddened to know it definitely wasn't vegan. So I did some searching and found an amazing vegan carbonara recipe! Actually, I found a video and typed out the recipe so that I and others could more easily make it.
Ah yes, looks and sounds delicious, doesn't it! It certainly was and was very authentic! I used a whole wheat linguini pasta and used veggie bacon instead of bits and it worked out great.This may become a new staple in our household. Here is the finished product: 


 Now here is the recipe, typed for your convenience: 
Vegetable Pasta Carbonara
Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Cold Pressed)
Finely chopped small onion
1 heaping tablespoon of flour
1 vegan bouillon cube
Black pepper
Sea salt
Milk of choice
1 small zucchini
¼ cup vegan bacon bits
¼ cup fresh peas
Heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast
½ box pasta of choice

Directions:
1.      Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2.      While bringing water to a boil, turn heat on med and put about two tablespoons of oil into a sauce pan.
3.      Throw in the onion. Cover and allow to cook for three to five minutes. Stir occasionally.
4.      Once the onions start to caramelize and sweeten, sprinkle in the flour and stir it around. Have a ladle ready to spoon hot boiling water into the onion-flour mixture.
5.      Using the ladle, slowly pour in water as you whisk (around 1 ½ to 2 cups of water).
6.      Turn heat on high, throw in the bouillon cube, and pour in milk. Whisk again.
7.      Bring to a boil and allow to reduce until thick. Allow to simmer, whisking occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick.
8.      Cook pasta. Reduce cooking time by 3 minutes as the pasta will cook for two minutes in the sauce and 1 minute on the plate. Use about half a box of pasta. Give it a stir and allow it to cook.
9.      Switch burners to cook vegetables. Put a tablespoon of oil in the pan, throw in the zucchini, and while it sautés drain the pasta and throw the bacon into the zucchini. Then throw the pasta in the pan and mix.
10.  Next pour the sauce into the pasta and mix together. Add the nutritional yeast and pepper.
11.  Reduce heat to low and cover one minute. Last, throw in the peas, mix, and serve. 




2 comments:

  1. This sounds sooo good! I don't like ham so this seems like a great alternative. What exactly are the benefits of Nutritional Yeast and where would I find it?

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    1. Well, for one, it helps give food a cheesy taste, but it's also very good for you! It is a great source of B vitamins, which are essential to take if you are on a vegan diet. I find mine in the natural foods section of my grocery store, usually around where the spices and such are. You can also do the recipe without the veggie bacon if you'd like.

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