Laura's Vegan Table

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews (soaked in a bowl of hot water for 20 minutes; then drained)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 ounces pasta
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • a sprinkle of turmeric
  • 1/3 cup vegan parmesan + more for topping
  • pepper to taste
  • a few slices of vegan bacon (I used Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon)

Pasta carbonara is a hearty Italian dish from Rome that’s traditionally made with eggs, cheese and cured meats. My much healthier vegan version is delectable and easy to make. And, no raw eggs! It works best with a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine. I used one of my favorite pastas here in this dish, fusilli longhi, which is really just a long fusilli. It’s harder to find but you can get it online or at some specialty stores. I just love the texture and it’s a fun shape of pasta to cook with and make dishes really pop. SweetEarth Foods makes Benevolent Bacon which is really good. Yves pepperoni would also work well here. Most grocery stores have at least a few of these types of options. Buon appetito!

Directions

Cook bacon according to package instructions. Cut a few slices of the bacon or tear into small pieces and set aside.

Add the cashews and water to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and set aside. To a pan on medium to high heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Sauté until the garlic is just starting to brown. Add the cashew cream and dijon mustard to the pan and whisk to combine. Add in the turmeric, salt and pepper and whisk, then turn off the heat. Set a large pot of water on the stove. When boiling, add your pasta and cook according to package instructions. You can add salt to the water if you wish. When the pasta is almost done cooking, reserve 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water and add to the pan with the cashew cream mixture. Heat the cashew cream sauce on low heat. Blend the pasta water into the cashew cream mixture to thin out the sauce. Add in the grated vegan parmesan, salt and pepper, and stir. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain and add to the pan of sauce. Stir to coat all of the pasta. Add in the bacon pieces, stir to coat, and add more parmesan for serving. Serve hot.