This is incredible! I never would have thought to add avocado to pasta, but this works deliciously. The pasta “sauce” is actually a salad that you add to hot pasta or grains like quinoa – it heats up the avocado a little and gives it that extra kick of flavor. I found this recipe on the Veganuary site
Ingredients:
- 1lb pasta – spaghetti or linguini work well, but feel free to experiment with other types, eg fusilli, penne, wholemeal noodles. I used angel hair
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin if possible)
- 3 large cloves garlic
- 2 large, ripe avocados – the ready-to-eat variety are best – I used Haas Avocados (to tell if they’re ripe, gently squeeze without applying your fingertips as this can cause bruising. If the avocado yields to firm gentle pressure you know it’s ripe & ready to eat. If it does not yield to gentle pressure it is considered still “firm” and will be ripe in a couple of days.)
- 2 large ripe tasty tomatoes – ‘beefsteak’ variety works well here
- OPTIONAL – ½ medium red chilli pepper
- 15 fresh basil leaves, torn – a good handful
- Juice of a lime
- Salt and lots of black pepper
Preparation
Serves 4
Options
- For those who would like lots of garlic, sauté the garlic in some of the olive oil first. Then just mix it in with the chopped vegetables, herbs and pasta as below.
- Replace avocados with strips of roasted red pepper (fresh or canned/jarred). If you use the jar version, you will need at least half a large jar. Roasted red peppers come in either brine or oil. If the former, drain well and then you don’t need to add extra salt to the dish. If they are in oil, you can leave out most of the oil in the recipe.
Greener Pasta!
Boil a kettle of hot water, pour it into your saucepan, add the pasta and a little salt. Bring to a boil, then switch off the heat and cover the pan with a well-fitting lid. The pasta will continue to cook in the hot water – in the usual cooking time but without using extra fuel. Brownie points for helping the environment! Stir occasionally to prevent clumping.
Cooking Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions – or see the Greener Pasta Tip above.
- While the pasta is cooking prepare the rest of the dish.
- If you are cooking the garlic, do so now. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a small frying pan and fry it gently for a minute or two, making sure it does not burn. Remove from heat – keeping any remaining oil – and set aside.
- If using the garlic raw, crush and set aside.
- Peel the avocados. Remove the seeds and chop into chunks.
- Chop the tomatoes into chunks.
- De-seed the chilli and chop fine.
- Drain the pasta and mix in the prepared vegetables.
- Add the remaining olive oil, lime juice and basil leaves. Season well.
- Serve immediately.
Bon apetit! What’s your favorite vegan pasta dish?
