Category Archives: Pasta

Mushroom & Tofu Noodle Bowl with a rich miso dressing

I felt like creating a bowl and using up what I had available.  As always, it’s all about the sauce! Feel free to substitute anything; I like a mix of cooked and raw items.  This one uses wholemeal linguine, rocket, shredded red cabbage, quick pickled red onions and then cooked mushrooms and grilled marinated tofu.


Mushroom & Tofu Miso Bowl
 
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Tofu, mushroom, rocket and red cabbage top off noodles with a creamy deeply umami miso dressing.
Author:
Recipe type: Bowl
Serves: -
Ingredients
  • Handful of rocket
  • Handful of finely shredded cabbage
  • Wholemeal linguine
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Marinated tofu, grilled
  • Quick pickled onions (finely shredded, tossed with white wine vinegar for 15 mins)
  • SAUCE: (makes enough for 8-10 servings)
  • ¾ cup soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed / grated
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoon bottled teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tablespoon caramelised onion relish
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Prepare the other bowl ingredients (or substitute with your own options).
  2. Sauté the mushrooms whole in a large skillet with a lid until they are tender, using a dash of soy sauce or tamari to flavour.
  3. Marinate the tofu in soy sauce, vegetable stock and a little tomato paste for 30 mins, then cook on both sides in a medium pan, turning twice. I used a grill pan to get the stripes. You can also use a sandwich press.
  4. Whilst the pasta and broccoli are cooking, put all the sauce ingredients into blender and blend until very smooth and creamy.
  5. Arrange items in the bowl, top with the broccoli, tofu and mushrooms.
  6. Serve with the sauce to pour over.

 

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Basil Lemon sauce

I have been using this method of roasting vegetables for a little while, which I learned from Chef Julia.  Basically you mix a little tahini into a couple tablespoons of of vegetable stock and use that to toss with the vegetables before putting in a hot oven (around 220 degrees C). I usually mix them up again around 20 mins in and then just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

The sauce is rather pesto-like but with a more pronounced lemon twist. I used pasta from a fantastic local company who make an amazing wholemeal sourdough pasta range, but substitute your favourite pasta, this works well with any shape.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Basil Lemon sauce
 
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Roasted vegetables alongside steamed broccoli, pasta and a tangy creamy pesto-inspired sauce
Author:
Recipe type: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian inspired
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • Sauce:
  • ½ cup cashews
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove fresh garlic
  • 30g fresh basil
  • 2 rounded desertspoons nutritional yeast
  • 4 tablespoons boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • Toasted pine nuts (optional)
  • Extra fresh basil, shredded (optional)
  • 1 heaping cup roasted vegetables per person
  • Suggestions of vegetables:
  • Butternut Squash
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Capsicums
  • Red onions
  • I usually make a big batch once a week and store in the fridge
  • 400g wholemeal pasta - used fusilli
Instructions
  1. Roast your vegetables (see description on my method in opening paragraph)
  2. Meanwhile put all sauce ingredients apart from lemon zest in a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the lemon zest and allow it to sit at room temperature.
  3. Adjust seasoning as required.
  4. Cook the pasta.
  5. Steam the broccoli.
  6. In a large bowl mix together the pasta, vegetables and sauce.
  7. Top with toasted pine nuts plus more shredded fresh basil if liked.

 

Thai Noodle Salad

I can’t believe it has taken a decade to get this recipe up on my page. I first had this type of salad at the Open Air Cinema in Sydney  and loved it so much I actually wrote to the catering company to ask for the recipe!  It has been amended and simplified a lot over the years to make it easier and quicker to make. Use any noodles you like; it works well with brown rice vermicelli, or wholemeal spaghetti.

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Thai Noodle Salad

Thai Noodle Salad
 
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Crunchy salad with noodles; make it as hot or mild as you choose and add any toppings you like. If you're short on time feel free to use a bag of prepared coleslaw instead of individual vegetables
Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Thai / Vietnamese
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 pack noodles – for 4 people
  • 1 red / other capsicum - finely sliced
  • ½ small white cabbage - shredded
  • 2 large carrots - grated
  • 4 spring onions - finely sliced
  • Optional: celery / other capsicums / marinated tofu pieces etc.
  • 1 cucumber finely chopped
  • 1 bunch coriander - well washed & finely chopped
  • 1 bunch mint - well washed & finely chopped
  • Sauce
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1-2 coriander roots, well washed
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup soy milk
  • 2 limes - juiced (2-3 tablespoons), & zested (1-2 tsp)
  • 2 T Sweet chilli sauce
  • 2 T Peanut butter
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves
  • Toppings:
  • Toasted peanuts
  • Toasted coconut flakes
  • Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. Cook the noodles, rinse in cold water and set aside
  2. Meanwhile finely shred, chop or grate the vegetables to desired textures and place in a large bowl
  3. Add the herbs – finely chopped, and mix well
  4. Blend all the ingredients for the sauce except the lime leaves. Snip into them with a sharp knife or scissors and place into the dressing to infuse for at least 30 mins (gets stronger the longer you leave it).
  5. Mix the noodles with the vegetables, top with the sauce and mix thoroughly
  6. Top with toppings as liked

 

Spicy Orange Noodles with Mushrooms, Kale & Edamame


Spicy Orange Noodles with Mushrooms, Kale & Edamame
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • SAUCE:
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon miso paste
  • 1 tablespoon orange / mandarin zest
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed / chopped
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup / brown rice syrup
  • 1 teaspoon semi dried chilli / chilli flakes - adjust to suit
  • ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil
  • ½ cup soy milk
  • OTHER THINGS:
  • 350g wholewheat noodles or spaghetti
  • 1 cup podded edamame beans
  • ½ bunch kale, destemmed, finely shredded
  • 375g punnet sliced mushrooms
  • To serve: spring onions, finely chopped
Instructions
  1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the noodles.
  2. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
  3. Prepare the beans, mushrooms and and kale.
  4. Put the shredded kale in to a large bowl and pour boiling water over it.
  5. Heat a large deep frying pan or wok and add the mushrooms.
  6. Once liquid is released add the kale and stir around.
  7. Once noodles are almost ready add the beans to the frying pan or wok and heat through. Cook for a few minutes until the kale is tender and most of liquid evaporated.
  8. Serve up the noodles into individual bowls, top with the vegeables and drizzle over the sauce.
  9. Sprinkle over the spring onions.

 

Spinach & Tofu Cannelloni


Spinach & Tofu Cannelloni
 
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You might look at the name of this recipe, or the photo and think you haven't got time to make this, but you'd be wrong! With a food processor and using wholewheat square wraps instead of pasta this can be on the table inside an hour! This is in regular weeknight rotation in our house and everyone always wants seconds! 🙂
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 4 square wholewheat wraps, cut into ¼ to make 16 squares
  • 1 500g jar pasta tomato & basil style sauce
  • Topping:
  • 1 slice wholemeal bread, torn into pieces
  • ¼ cup walnut pieces
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Filling:
  • 350g baby spinach
  • 350g firm plain tofu, broken into pieces
  • 1 shallot / very small onion, chopped
  • 75g hummus
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp Italian herbs mix
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
  2. Place the topping ingredients into your food processor and pulse until you have a regular crumb with no large pieces. Tip into a bowl and set aside.
  3. Place the baby spinach into a large bowl and cover with boiling water, pushing it down so all the leaves are submerged.
  4. Take your lasagne dish and pour about ⅓ of the jar of sauce over the bottom and tilt the dish so there is an even cover across the whole surface.
  5. Tip the spinach leaves and water into a colander over the sink, and run cold water over the spinach. Taking handfuls at a time, squeeze as much as the water out as you can, then roughly chop each handful into a few pieces, break up the clumps, and pop into the food processor (no need to clean out after breadcrumbs).
  6. Place all the other filling ingredients into the food processor with the spinach and pulse until it is well mixed and in tiny pieces, but not a puree.
  7. Take one square of wholewheat wrap, spoon 1 heaped tablespoon (about the size of a golf ball – around 35-40g in weight) of filling along one side. Roll up to create a sausage shape and place it in a corner of the dish. Keep going until you have used up all the filling and your dish is packed full.
  8. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the rolls and make sure all the bread is covered.
  9. Sprinkle the topping over the rolls and bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil during the last 10
  10. minutes if your breadcrumb topping is starting to catch.

 

Mexican Pasta

Quick and easy weeknight dish that can be on the table inside 30 mins and you can spice it up or down depending on you or your family’s tastes.

2014-10-28 19.47.03

Mexican Pasta
 
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Author:
Cuisine: Italian / Mexican
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 300g wholewheat fusilli /penne etc
  • 1 medium red onion, diced
  • 1 green capsicum diced
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1 t cumin
  • 1 t coriander
  • 1 t oregano
  • 1 t smoked paprika
  • ¼ - 1 tsp chilli powder to taste
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 1.5 cups sweetcorn
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 jar mild (or medium / hot) salsa
  • Garnish:
  • 1 avocado diced
  • Chopped coriander
  • Hot sauce
Instructions
  1. Bring water to the boil in a large pot and boil your pasta.
  2. Water sauté the onion and capsicum over a medium heat, then after a few minutes add the garlic and herbs / spices and stir for another minute.
  3. Add all other ingredients apart from garnishes and mix thoroughly. Simmer until hot then tip in drained pasta once it's ready.
  4. Dish up and garnish as desired with avocado, coriander and hot sauce.

 

Kale & Tofu Cannelloni

I’ve always loved cannelloni, but filing those little dried pasta tubes is very fiddly and time consuming!   This one uses wholewheat lasagne sheets, and a light and tasty tofu kale filling, baked in a rich tomato sauce and topped with crispy breadcrumbs.  Simple enough for a family dinner but good enough for company too!  Also another great way to get kale into your children!

2014-10-22 19.38.07

Tofu Kale Cannelloni
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Cannelloni
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • FILLING:
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 375g plain firm tofu
  • ⅓ cup soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 1 T American style mild mustard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 T chopped fresh dill
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 T nutritional yeast
  • 1 small onion (slightly larger than a golf ball size) finely diced
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • PASTA:
  • 4-6 wholemeal lasagne sheets (I used instant variety)
  • SAUCE:
  • 375g of your favourite oil free Bolognese / tomato & basil style pasta sauce, a jar or homemade - (or a can of chopped tomatoes, blended with 1 tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp onion granules, 1 T tomato paste & 1 tsp sugar until smooth, then stir in 1 tsp dried Italian herbs).
  • BREADCRUMB TOPPING:
  • 1 slices wholemeal bread
  • ¼ cup walnuts
  • 1 T nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp grated lemon zest
Instructions
  1. De-stem the kale, roughly chop and simmer in large pot of boiling water for 8 mins until softened.
  2. Rinse under cold water, take handfuls, firmly squeeze out the water and then slice each handful into 4-5 pieces.
  3. Meanwhile, fry the onion and garlic in a small pan over a gentle heat with a splash of water until softened.
  4. Mix the soy milk, miso, mustard and salt together in a small bowl
  5. Put the tofu in a food processor and pulse a couple of times, before adding the kale, dill, walnuts, nutritional yeast, soy milk mixture and the onion and garlic mixture. Pulse until it is breadcrumb like, not so much that it becomes a green paste! Remove the blade and this is now ready for your lasagne sheets.
  6. NB: If you don’t have a food processor, mash the tofu with a fork until like breadcrumbs, finely chop the kale and thoroughly mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
  7. Bring a large wide pan of water to the boil.
  8. Prepare a lasagne style baking dish by lining it with half of your tomato sauce.
  9. Boil each sheet of lasagne separately for 4 minutes, pop into a bowl of cold water or run under the cold tap; remove to a chopping board. As each one is done you can start layering your cannelloni dish, or cook them all ahead of time and layer between baking paper to prevent them sticking together. If storing in the fridge, wrap in cling film so they don’t dry out.
  10. Heat the oven to 180 o Centigrade.
  11. Take a lasagne sheet and cut it in half across the long side (i.e making two rectangles, not long skinny strips). Take one piece and scoop up approximately 2-3 tablespoons of the filling and arrange it in a tube shape across the lasagne, then roll up. The two edges should overlap by about 1-2 cms, so use this as your guide to how much to put in!
  12. Place your cannelloni tube in the sauce at one side of your dish.
  13. Keep this going as your boil your sheets, cut, fill, roll and place.
  14. Pack them snugly against each other. You should need 4-6 full lasagne sheets, making 8-12 cannelloni before you use all your filling and they ideally will just fill up your dish. You may need to cut the last one in half to fill up the gap in the corner. Mine looked like this:
  16. I used 5 sheets, so 10 cannelloni.
  17. Pour the rest of the sauce over the cannelloni.
  18. For the breadcrumb topping, put all the ingredients in a food processor or small chopper, process until breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the cannelloni.
  19. Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until breadcrumbs crisp and sauce is bubbling. If breadcrumbs are browning too quickly, cover the dish with a sheet of foil.

 

Oil-free Red Pepper Pesto

This is a game changer.  I’ve tried making many many pestos without oil over the years and been mainly disappointed.  The essential oil in basil it seems has to blend with some other kind of oil to be drawn effectively from the leaves and the pine nuts / cashews didn’t seem to be enough.  The liquid which comes from red peppers (capsicums for the Aussies reading) is a funny oily kind of substance which I thought might work.  So happy I was right.  You have to try this. 🙂

2014-10-01 13.53.05

Oil-free Red Pepper Pesto
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 4 small / 3 medium / 2 large red peppers / capsicums
  • 1 large bunch basil (or use 2 if they're smaller like supermarket bunches)
  • 2-3 tablespoons raw pine nuts or cashew pieces
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 garlic clove
  • ½ - 1 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
  2. Wash your peppers well, then place stalk-up on a baking tray lined with baking paper (bring the paper up over the sides as you want to catch any escaping juices).
  3. Wash your basil, then pluck off all the good leaves (not blackened / bruised) and tender stalk tips and put them in your food processor
  4. Add the nooch, garlic - sliced, and salt
  5. After about 20 minutes check your peppers and rotate them carefully, turning blackened spots underneath and be careful not to pierce them so the juices escape.
  6. Check again after 15 minutes and rotate once more. After 45-60 minutes they should be ready depending on your oven. They should be and collapsing but not flat yet!
  7. Place them in a bowl, and cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes or until just cool enough to handle, but still warm / hot. Wearing disposable gloves can help here!
  8. Holding them over the bowl, split them open, remove the stalk as many seeds as you can and peel off as much as the skin as you can. Let the juices drip into the bowl. Place pieces of flesh into another bowl as you go along. Once you're finished, place a fine sieve over the bowl of prepared peppers, and tip your bowl containing the seeds, stalks and skin over it, adding all that lovely syrup / juice to your peppers. Discard the other bowl contents.
  9. Add your peppers and juice to the food processor with your basil etc., and process on high until it is the texture you like. It helps if the peppers are still a little warm.
  10. Adjust the seasoning and serve.
  11. This makes an excellent dip also if you add a can of chickpeas /cannellini beans.

 

Easy Mushroom Pasta with Chilli Lemon & Garlic

Sometimes you need dinner on the table in 20 mins, tops.  This is so easy to throw together as the only fresh things you need on hand are mushrooms and fresh parsley – and if you have that growing in your garden – or on your windowsill, even easier!  I always have pasta in the pantry, chilli, garlic, lemons and wine in my fridge, so just keep some cashew cream on hand and you’re all set to make this dish.

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Easy Mushroom Pasta with Chilli Lemon & Garlic
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 300g wholewheat pasta
  • 600 g small white mushrooms, washed and quartered
  • 2 largish cloves garlic, microplaned
  • Zest of an organic (unwaxed) lemon
  • 6 tablespoons chopped parsley (about half a bunch)
  • Large pinch of semi dried chillies (Gourmet Garden pots) – or use fresh if you prefer
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 1 tsp tamari
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons cashew cream (cashews soaked, blended with enough water to make a thick cream)
  • ½ cup soy milk
  • Salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. Put your pasta on to boil.
  2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add the mushrooms, stirring frequently until softened and liquid released and half-evaporated – about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and lemon zest, chillies and sauté for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Add wine, tamari, nutritional yeast, cashew cream and soy milk, turn down the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the sauce comes together.
  5. Scatter with parsley, pour over your cooked pasta and mix well.
  6. Top with extra parsley if liked, and season well.

 

Spinach, Basil, Mushroom & Potato “Lasagne”

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I was going to make a new type of lasagne but a gluten-free friend was joining us for dinner and I couldn’t find gluten free lasagne sheets (and the ingredients in some of those products is rather off-putting!)  so decided to substitute potato for the pasta layers.
This was SO GOOD!  Luckily I wrote everything down as I did it so can make it again!
The cheesy sauce is also on this site here, you’ll need half of the portion this makes.

Spinach & Basil, Mushroom & Potato "Lasagne"
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Lasagne
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 450g silken tofu
  • 450g frozen spinach (frozen weight)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Leaves from 1 large bunch of basil, blitzed in food processor with 3 tablespoons of pine nuts
  • zest of a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 700g mushrooms, diced. (I used flat mushrooms and white cup, but whatever you have is fine)
  • 50g cashews, soaked if necessary, and blended with enough water to cover
  • 1 tablespoon tamari
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 700g potatoes, sliced thinly.
  • ½ a portion of cheese sauce recipe (see intro)
  • 1 cup of passata / blended canned tomatoes
Instructions
  1. Thaw and squeeze as much of the water out of the spinach and mix in a large bowl with the tofu, the onion - finely chopped; the nutritional yeast, salt, basil & pine nuts, lemon zest and juice and set aside.
  2. Make the cheese sauce as linked to in the introduction.
  3. Saute the mushrooms in a large pan in their own juices, mix in the cashew cream, tamari and lemon juice. Cook until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are tender.
  4. Meanwhile steam the potatoes until just tender - about 7 mins.
  5. Take a large lasagne dish. Layer as follows:
  6. cup of passata / blended tomatoes.
  7. A third of the Potatoes
  8. Half of the Spinach tofu mixture
  9. Half of remaining potatoes
  10. All the mushrooms
  11. Remaining potatoes
  12. Remaining spinach tofu mixture
  13. Cheese sauce (about half of the quantity the recipe makes)
  14. Place in a moderate oven - 180 for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling and top is browning.