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For the second installment of the easy, affordable, & accessible vegan recipe series, I wanted to share with you a recent discovery that I instantly fell in love with - zucchini carbonara by Hot For Food.
Lauren Toyota is the creator behind Hot For Food and is a Canadian content creator, offering countless recipes of vegan comfort foods, and I can not recommend her content enough. Further, if you were a fan of music channels on TV earlier in the 2000s, you may recognize Lauren, as she was a VJ on the beloved music channel Much Music.
Since the early 2000s, Lauren has been taking on the vegan culinary world by storm through her recipe books, Youtube channel, and other social media outlets.
I have to say that this dish has had me hooked since the first bite and there ain't no going back. So why not share the latest obsession taking place in my kitchen, seeing that it meets all the criteria of this series!? It's:
Easy
Affordable and;
Accessible
Also, who doesn't love pasta?
Difficulty Rating: 4/10
This recipe is perfect if you are looking for a recipe that will take no more than 30 minutes tops to make. Due to the inclusion of a meat alternative, I opted to give it a rating of 4, as it is another component that you must keep an eye on. However, with all things considered, this is an easy dish with minimal ingredients.
Initial recommendations:
Depending on the number of people in your home, you may want to consider making half of the recipe. While I always make the complete recipe for the two of us, we always have leftovers, which I love.
Further, if you are hesitant about this recipe based on pickle brine, don't be! I was skeptical of it too, and was beyond disbelief at how delicious this turned out (hence my obsession); you will not be disappointed!
Makes 4 -6 Servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups peeled and coarsely chopped zucchini
1/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic (5 or 6 large garlic cloves)
1/4 cup dill pickle brine or sauerkraut brine
2 tablespoons vegan butter
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
1 package (1 lb/454g) spaghetti
2 cups finely chopped or crumbled Tempeh Bacon chunks, vegan bacon, or smoky sausage
1 teaspoon kala namak
1/2 cup shredded vegan Parmesan, for garnish
Directions
Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the zucchini and garlic and saute for 9 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is soft and cookies, there should still be a small amount of water from the zucchini bubbling on the bottom of the pan. Add the zucchini to a blender along with the pickle brine, vegan butter, nutritional yeast, and black pepper and blend on high until very smooth.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dante.
If making the tempeh bacon from scratch, heat the same pan over medium-heat and once the pan is hot, add the marinated tempeh bacon in an even layer. Cook on the first side, allowing it to brown and caramelized for 5 to 6 minutes. Toss and flip the pieces, cooking for another 5 minutes and lowering the heat if it starts to burn or get too hot. If using a premade bacon or sausage product, brown it in the pan with a bit of oil until cooked.
Transfer the tempeh bacon, vegan bacon, or sausage to another dish. Place the pan back over low heat, add the zucchini cream sauce, and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and whish in the kala namak right before you add the pasta. By this point, your pasta should be cooked al dante, so you can add it right from the boiling water into the pan of sauce with a pair of tongs or drain it and then add to the sauce. Add the tempeh bacon or browned bacon or sausage and toss until combined.
Garnish each serving with shredded vegan Parmesan and more black pepper.
If reheating leftovers, you'll want to add a bit of water or non-dairy milk and a bit of vegan butter to the pan to get the sauce loose and smooth again.
Recipe Review, Recommendations and Substitutions:
The biggest recommendation I could give is to try this recipe if you are hesitant like I was initially. Just think: if it's in a cookbook, it has to be good! Also, if you have ever tried Lauren't recipes, you will know that she does not disappoint.
I don't cook with olive oil on an average day. Instead, I add a splash of water when cooking vegetables and additional water as needed.
If you don't have a meat substitute, don't worry about it. This dish doesn't need it!
However, if you have a meat substitute, I recommend cooking it in a separate pan while your veggies and pasta are cooking away, rather than using the same pan once your vegetables have finished. This way, everything will be done at once, allowing you to blend your veggie mixture until smooth, quickly blend in the kala namak, and stir it into my drained pasta and top with your meat. At least, this is what I do, and it saves a step of heating your sauce again and some time.
If you don't have Parmesan, don't worry about it! At least, I don't.
Kala namak is also referred to as black salt and is commonly used in Indian and Asian cuisines. While this ingredient does add a specific flavour to the dish, If you don't have access to this ingredient, the pasta will still be rich and flavourful.
Cost of Ingredients
I opted to list ingredients primarily found in Walmart, as there is typically a Walmart store in most cities. I have broken down the cost of all ingredients, except the Parmesan, meat alternative, and kala namak, as they can be optional and aren't always available in smaller cities. With this in mind, the breakdown is as follows:
Ingredient | Store | Brand | Cost | Recipe Serving Size | Cost Per Serving (approx.) |
Olive Oil | Walmart | Great Value (500ml bottle) | $3.97 | 1 Tbspn | $0.08 |
Zucchini | Walmart | - | | 4 cups | $3.88 |
Garlic | Walmart | - | $0.77 (for a three pack) | 6 large garlic cloves | $0.27 |
Pickle Juice Brine | Walmart | Great Valu | $3.57 | 1/4 cup | $0.22 |
Vegan Butter | Walmart | Becel Margarine Vegan | $3.57 | 2 Tbsp | $0.22 |
Nutritional Yeast | Walmart, Bulk Barn, Independent | - | $4.13 for 1 cup | 2 Tbsp | $0.52 |
Black Pepper | Walmart | Great Valu | $1.97 bag of ground pepper | 1 tsp | $0.13 |
Spaghetti | Walmart | Great Value Dry Pasta Spaghetti | $1.27 for 900g bag | 1lb (454g) | $0.64 |
Total | | | | | $5.96 |
Nutritional Breakdown per Serving (not including tempeh/meat alternative)
Calories: 428
Carbs: 73.2 grams
Fat: 9.7 grams
Protein: 15 grams
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