A vegan Pasta recipe? Well, to be honest, I didn’t intend it to be this way. But glad it worked out. The real challenge with this recipe was to cook it under 8 mins, and well, mushrooms take a lot of time to brown because they have a lot of water in them. But, this is what gave me the safety net to blast the heat underneath the pan and even put a lid on top. This cooked them under 30-60 secs. Similarly, with the coconut milk I was able to reduce it by keeping it on high because it’s pretty thin and takes a sec to thicken, which also concentrates its mellow sweetness.
Ingredients
- 70 gms of Penne Pasta
- A splash of Olive oil (2 tbsps)
- 7-8 Sliced Mushrooms (more or less, depending on how much you like mushrooms)
- 150 ml of Coconut milk (roughly, but frankly, more than you think, because it will reduce when cooking)
- 1 tsp of Dried mixed herbs
- 1-1/2 tbsp of Chilli oil (depending on how much you like spice, and spending on the toilet)
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper for garnish
- Chopped coriander for garnish
Procedure
- Boil the Pasta in heavily salted boiling water for 8 minutes.
- Preheat your frying pan on high heat. Wash and slice your mushrooms meanwhile.
- Add a splash of oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms. Stir it, and quickly close the lid. Keep the heat on high.
- Listen to the pan carefully, once the sizzling sound turns loud,i.e. after 30-60 secs, remove the lid and stir the mushrooms. They should be seared and brown.
- Add a sprinkle of salt to season the mushrooms. Add the coconut milk. Stir quickly and close the lid again.
- Reduce the sauce to ‘sticks to the back of the spoon’ consistency. Now add the chilli oil and give it a quick mix. Add some of the chopped coriander too, who cares?
- Add some of the pasta water to loosen the sauce. Don’t be shy, add quite a lot of it.
- Now, add the drained pasta and adjust to the desired consistency with the help of the pasta water.
- Toss it in with the sauce and plate it.
- Garnish with black pepper and chopped coriander.
Note: The coconut sauce thickens up more than you think. So, keep in that in mind when adding the coconut milk. It might take more than you think.