Penne Carbonara (Vegan, Gluten-Free and a Soy-Free Option)

My roommate asked for carbonara and my imagination started to run wild. It also happens that my husband loves carbonara. Basically, it’s a heavy cream sauce with fried bacon bits or pancetta with whole eggs beaten into it. Well, that’s not vegan. That’s where I am come in.

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What I decided to go with was a heavy cauliflower cream sauce with fried smoked tofu and king oyster mushrooms. If you want to leave the smoked tofu out and sub more diced mushrooms and a little liquid smoke, you’re going to end up in a good place. This is a warm, filling comfort food.  It’s creamy, with a bit of crunch and chew. It has seriously earthy undertones and is simple to prepare. It’s also deceptively light. If you’ve never tried a cauliflower cream sauce, you are in for a major treat. It has the texture of a heavy cream sauce, without any of the unpleasant associations of the dairy one. This came together in less than a half and hour.

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Penne Carabonara
Serves 4

Tofu and Mushroom Pancetta

1 tablespoon olive oil
100 g smoked tofu, diced
1 king oyster mushroom, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the diced smoked tofu and sautee until it begins to get crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic and spices and sautee, making sure not to burn the garlic for several minutes, until the mushrooms have released their water and have browned slightly. Take off heat and set aside.

Cauliflower Cream Sauce

Half a large head of cauliflower, chopped into florets and steamed
2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk, your choice (I like both rice and soy)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of dried thyme
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Once the cauliflower has been steamed to fork tender, set aside to let cool. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into the skillet you fried your mushrooms and tofu in and whisk over medium heat, reducing to your desired thickness.

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Assembly

350 g cooked gluten-free penne
Green onion and thyme, for garnish

Add the al dente pasta to the pan with the cauliflower cream sauce. Add the fried tofu and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Serve with steamed green vegetables and a slice of fresh lemon. Marvel at the cream sauce you just made from hardly more than the magical vegetable cauliflower.

 

Smoked Tofu Pot Pie (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Serving this dish made four people very happy. It’s comforting, familiar (even though they’d never had it before) and bursting with vegetables. The smokiness of the tofu packs a really delicious punch. Imagine my delight when I was able to get a somewhat attractive photo of this comfort food! Maybe, just maybe I am getting better.

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I’m going to tell you a secret: I never do a bottom layer on savoury pastry dishes. It saves time and fuss, and reduces the amount of pastry you have to make and use. You don’t miss it; trust me. You can save yourself some time and use store bought pastry – or you can throw together a half batch of Martha Stewart’s pate brisee, subbing non-dairy margarine for butter and an all purpose gluten-free flour.

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Smoked Tofu Pot Pie
Serves 6, as a main

Please note you can use whatever vegetables you like, just make the total about 7 1/2 cups diced.

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1/4 cup non-dairy margarine
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon salt (if using non-dairy milk)
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
2 cups vegetarian chicken stock
2 cups non-dairy milk, unsweetened (or more stock)
~210 g smoked tofu, diced
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes, skins on
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups died butternut squash
1 1/2 cups uncooked corn (2 cobs)

Pate Brisee, to cover a 2 quart dutch oven, or whatever container you’d like to bake in.

Once your vegetables have been diced, preheat oven to 425 F. Heat the margarine in the dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the onions. Let them sweat for a few minutes. Add the garlic and seasonings, stirring to prevent the garlic from burning. Next add the flour and stir to coat the onions and garlic with the flour. Cook for several minutes. Add the stock and whisk to combine. Stirring often, let it thicken slightly before adding the soy milk and whisking again to combine. Add the tofu and diced vegetables, stirring to coat all of them in the gravy. Remove from the heat. Roll out the pate brisee and cover the vegetables. Poke plenty of steam holes in the pastry. Give it a non-dairy milk bath and bake for about an hour, or until the pastry is golden brown and some gravy have bubbled up out of the stream holes. Serve hot.