Lemon and artichoke spaghetti with spinach

Having my parents visit inspired me to make some different meals to those in our usual rotation. This spaghetti dish was adapted from the recipe for lemon, artichoke and baby spinach spaghetti in Adele McConnell's The Vegan Cookbook. I won this book back in 2014 and posted at the time that I wanted to make almost all of the recipes it contains. Four years on and I haven't made even half the recipes, but those I have made have been great.

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Creamy vegan tomato and basil pasta

It turns out the old adage about children and pasta is true. Mini Bite is pretty good with most foods, but she loves pasta and is capable of tucking away an enormous amount of it when hungry. My go-to easy sauce for her is a mix of tomato pasta, tahini, dried oregano and nutritional yeast, but recently I have been looking for some different sauces that we can all enjoy. This creamy tomato basil pasta was one result.

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Red pepper and lentil bolognese

I have previously shared an aubergine and pepper bolognese that offers a satisfying mid-week (or anytime) vegetable-packed meal. This red pepper and lentil bolognese is a worthy alternative. I paired this version with pasta spirals instead of spaghetti and really enjoyed the result. I know pasta shapes don't matter that much, but somehow they change the feel of a meal and I think this one suits spirals!

 

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Made over creamy mushroom pasta {vegan sauce + raw noodles}

After making Mary Ellen's Thai slaw salad last week, I was in the mood for more vegetable spiralising. I love my spiraliser but, as with so many things, go through phases with it. When it comes out it tends to stay out for a while, so you may see some more spiralising over the coming weeks!

I was very pleased with this dish, especially as it is different to my previous raw noodle recipes (which include courgette / zucchini noodles with a spicy peanut sauce, a tahini lemon sauce and a tomato basil sauce, and the Thai beetroot noodles featured in my header). Here, light courgette noodles are topped with a creamy sauce made from hummous, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and paprika. With the addition of mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes, it really is reminiscent of a creamy pasta meal. Unlike traditional versions, though, this one won't leave you feeling overwhelmed by heavy ingredients. 

I used sun dried tomatoes that are dried without oil, which are my favourite type. They are particularly flavoursome but you can obviously use the oil-based variety if you need to. Don't skip them though, or the mushrooms - both are crucial to this dish! Whilst my version of this isn't fully raw (on account of using hummous made with cooked chickpeas), you could also use raw hummous if you're so inclined.

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Mediterranean pasta salad with tofu

We have had a few cold dinners this week, on account of some hot summer days and overly warm summer nights. The nice thing about England is that, generally, the hot weather doesn't last for weeks on end like it does in Australia. The flip side is that air conditioning isn't common here, so when it is hot, you are hot.

For those of you in the northern hemisphere, this Mediterranean pasta salad is perfect for summer nights, barbecues or picnics. It's easy to make ahead and then serve cold. For those of you in the southern hemisphere, I imagine it could work as a warm pasta dish too.

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Just creamy, vegan, spiced tomato spaghetti

Having used hummus as a cheese alternative on grilled toast and in lasagna, it is perhaps not surprising that I recently added it to pasta sauce. It worked extremely well. Paired with tomato paste, red wine vinegar, various herbs and plenty of vegetables, it turned spaghetti from bland to exciting and was a very satisfying meal.

I confess that, of late, I have been buying hummus rather than making it. I know, I know! It's extremely easy to make, not to mention cheaper and open to customisation. Nevertheless, I sometimes buy it. A consequence of this is needing to use up the tub within the recommended date range. I'm very fond of hummus, but sometimes I struggle to get through it all as a spread or dip. Dishes like this are handy at such times.

Whilst I didn't use them here, I think sun dried tomatoes would provide a nice twist with this meal too. If you like sun dried tomato flavours, feel free to try out the addition (and let me know how it goes).

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Vegan cannelloni with spiced tomatoes and aubergine

I posted two aubergine recipes in June, which (to me at least) were a logical extension of each other: vegan lasagne with aubergines and hummous, and then vegan potato and aubergine bake with tahini. This recipe drops out the creamy hummous/tahini element, but is inspired by the lasagne I enjoyed so much. In fact, the cannelloni tubes are made from lasagne sheets. And yes, aubergine is involved.

 

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Aubergine and pepper spaghetti 'bolognese'

I have made this dish twice in the last month, which is a high hit rate when considering that I usually leave pasta dishes to Mr Bite. The first time I made it with relatively large chunks of aubergine (eggplant), but on my re-run I chopped the vegetables into smaller pieces to give a bolognese type sauce.

As you might guess from the frequency of our eating it, we both really enjoyed this dish. It is a satisfying match for cooler, darker evenings, and a delicious use for aubergine. The meal is not very high in protein, but it does provide a great hit of vegetables. Mr Bite has added cheese to his servings, and you could also increase the protein content with a scattering of pine nuts or slivered almonds.

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Lightly cooked zucchini noodles with a tomato basil sauce

In my zucchini noodle experiments to date, I have used the noodles fresh and raw. To be honest, it never occurred to me to eat them in any other way. Recently, though, I saw a reference to zucchini noodles being lightly cooked. Last week, I decided to give that approach a go, and added noodles to a hot pan for just under 2 minutes. The result? Slightly softened, nicely warmed noodles that were a lovely change from the standard raw variety.

Complementing the noodles were tomatoes, basil, sherry vinegar and nutritional yeast. The flavours were wonderful. Broccoli and tofu featured too, as did a smattering of other herbs. If you had sun dried tomatoes to hand, I think they would be an excellent addition (or replacement for fresh tomatoes) as well.

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Tomato and kale spaghetti with chickpeas

2013 seems to be the year where I go from having no pasta recipes on this blog (oh, okay, a couple) to having 7 and counting. In the last 6 months, we have had angel hair spaghetti with roast peppers, basil and tofu bacon; Asian-spiced tofu with green tea soba noodles; beetroot pasta with a spinach and white bean sauce; more beetroot pasta with cumin-spiced tomato split pea sauce; and now, this chickpea, tomato and kale spaghetti.

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(Beetroot) spaghetti with cumin-spiced tomato split pea sauce

It is with some regret that I skip over Vegan MoFo this year. Unfortunately, September is a busy enough month for me without adding in extra blogging. I will focus on trying to keep up with others' posts instead, and hope to join in again next year.

Whilst I am skipping Vegan Mofo, I am pleased to have an opportunity to participate in 'pasta please'. Johanna has just announced that she is hosting pasta please for September, with a focus on long pasta. This times rather brilliantly with today's post.

This noodle dish makes use of another pack of beetroot pasta, as previously featured with a spinach and white bean sauce. Instead of green, this dish packs an assortment of colours. It also packs an assortment of flavours!

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Beetroot pasta with spinach and white bean sauce

When I posted about my beetroot pasta purchase, I got lots of queries about what I would do with the pink noodles. At the time, I really had no idea. I routinely buy food like that - drawn in by novelty or beauty with no meal plan at the time of purchase.

Over time, though, ideas came to me. I wanted something that would contrast with the pink colour. I thought about corn, and still think yellow kernals against pink pasta would be a beautiful thing. In the end, though, I settled on green.

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Angel hair spaghetti with roast peppers, basil, and tofu bacon

After more than two years of blogging, this is the first spaghetti recipe to grace my pages. Prior to this, my pasta efforts have been limited to one (very dated, very early!) ginger noodle recipe, one chocolate pasta recipe, and one Thai and rice noodle salad recipe. There has also been a zucchini noodle dish, but that's not really the same.

What triggered this sudden welcoming of pasta? To be truthful, I don't even know. The idea of the dish just wafted to me. I followed the line of thought, and so it was made.

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