Vegan Gluten-Free Zucchini and Asparagus Pasta
This is a recipe invented by the ingredients themselves. Even though the idea is by no means new, the way we eat these days changed compared to the times before corona virus.
We are cooking more at home and we are cooking more what we can than we want. You realize a lot of things, you understand with new eyes how much a basic need the food is and how cooking and eating is no more the pleasure it used to be.
But we are trying to go through this period as good as we can and some nice things may come out of it. So, in the fridge I had 2 poor zucchini and 1 bunch of asparagus not in the best shape either. This is because they were delivered not very fresh and because some other vegetables had their turn to be cooked before them. They needed a bit of treatment to be more appealing so I decided to use both of them to make some pasta.
This is a healthy gluten-free recipe with a cheesy eggy taste given by nutritional yeast flakes rich in Vit B which also helps thickening the sauce and by kala namak a salt which contains sulphur that imitates the egg smell. For a hint of spice I used some chilli flakes.
1 serving contains about 350 calories, 60 g of carbs, 5 g of fat and 13 g of protein, you can find the detailed nutrition information below.
Ingredients
· 5.3 oz / 150 g gluten-free pasta
· 2 small zucchini
· 1 bunch / 8.8 oz / 250 g of asparagus
· 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
· 3 garlic cloves, crushed
· 4.4fl oz / 125 ml vegan cream
· 2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes
· 1 tsp paprika
· ½ tsp chilli flakes
· 1 tsp salt
· 1 tsp black salt (kala namak), optional
· Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Trim the tough ends of asparagus and cut them into 2" / 5 cm pieces
- In a medium pot boil 5 cups of water with salt
- When boiling, add asparagus and cook 4-5 minutes, until tender crisp
- Drain asparagus in colander and leave it aside
- Fill the pot again with water and salt and boil
- When boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions
- Peel zucchini and cut them in cubes
- In a sauté pan heat the oil on medium heat and when hot add the garlic and cook it to release the aroma, for about 1 minute
- Add zucchini cubes, paprika, chilli flakes and salt, give them a good stir and continue in this manner until almost cooked, about 3 minutes
- Add the asparagus and cook together for 2 more minutes
- In the meantime in a small bowl combine the vegan cream, nutritional yeast and optional 1 tsp kala namak salt for the eggy taste
- After pasta is drained return to pot (heat off) and mix with the cheesy eggy mixture
- Toss the creamy pasta in the sauté pan and mix everything together (heat off)
- Divide between two plates and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and extra nutritional yeast
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 | |
| Calories | 348 |
| Calories from Fat | 45 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 5 g | 8% |
| Saturated fat 1 g | 5% |
| Unsaturated fat 0 g | |
| Carbohydrates 60 g | 20% |
| Sugar 1 g | |
| Fiber 4 g | 16% |
| Protein 12 g | 24% |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | |
| Sodium 1180 mg | 49% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
