Easy Green Pasta
Servings 6 servings
Calories 484kcal
Ingredients
- 200 g cavolo nero kale washed; or use curly kale, spring greens or spinach
- 300 g pack of silken tofu see notes
- 2 tablespoon (heaped) nutritional yeast or parmesan if using
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 200 ml milk of choice (dairy or plant) make sure it's unsweetened
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice or to taste, start with small amount and increase as per your taste
- 570 g jar of butter beans or use 2 x 400g(14-15oz) cans instead
- 100 g spinach washed
- 200 g frozen peas
- 500 g pasta of choice I used Rigatoni
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Get all the ingredients ready.Prepare cavolo nero by taking the leaves off the stems and giving them a wash.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to boil and pop in prepared kale to blanch for 2 minutes. Once time is up, take it out of the pan using slotted spoon or kitchen tongs (my preferred way here).200 g cavolo nero kale
- Bring water back to boil and once boiling again add pasta and cook as per package instructions. As your pasta is cooking, make the sauce.500 g pasta of choice
- Pop blanched cavolo nero, silken tofu, mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast (or parmesan), milk, salt and pepper into a blender and blitz until smooth.200 g cavolo nero kale , 300 g pack of silken tofu, 2 tbsp (heaped) nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 200 ml milk of choice (dairy or plant), 2 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper
- Pour the sauce into a large pan (larger than mine for sure as there will be a lot of sauce). Add butter beans (with liquid), frozen peas and put on a low heat.In the meantime drain the pasta and save a cup of pasta water.570 g jar of butter beans, 200 g frozen peas
- Add pasta to the pan with the sauce and give it a gentle mix, keeping it on a low heat just for a couple of minutes more. The sauce will cling to the pasta giving it that gorgeous green hue. Take the pan off the heat. Give pasta a little taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.500 g pasta of choice, salt and pepper
- Last but not least, add spinach and mix it in allowing residual heat from the pasta to wilt it.Plate up and enjoy!100 g spinach
I would recommend undercooking your pasta ever so slightly by a minute or two (proper al dente) so that once you pop it into the sauce it won't turn into a complete mush.
If you only have one large pot/pan simply drain your pasta first and pour the sauce over the pasta, keeping it on a low heat and stirring it in gently for a couple of minutes.
Despite there being A LOT of sauce, you will notice how quickly your pasta absorbs it. Use saved pasta water to adjust consistency to your liking. Yo might not have to use it if you serve the pasta straight away but it will come handy when heating up leftovers so just pop a cup in your fridge until needed.
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 6 servings) and should be treated as a rough guideline only. It will differ depending on ingredients used.
- Silken tofu can be substituted with a mixture of sunflower seeds and cashew nuts (100g of each + extra splash of milk) or a tin of white beans (cannellini or butter beans). For more details see 🛒 Ingredients above.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. Freezer friendly. For more details see 🥡 Storing Green Pasta.
Pasta water is your friend when it comes to adjusting consistency of your sauce especially when reheating the pasta.
Even though the sauce will seem on a runny side, don't worry. Once you add the pasta it will absorb a lot of the sauce and also the natural starch from the pasta will make it thicken.
Don't forget to taste and adjust seasoning to your taste. Don't go overboard from the start. It's much easier to add more than to take away.
Nutrition
Calories: 484kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 403mg | Potassium: 847mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 5219IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 213mg | Iron: 5mg