Spaghetti Carbanara (recipe inspired by our trip to Bali)

I don’t know about you but do holidays or time spent away always run smoothly? If I go to the Osho Meditation Resort they usually run very smoothly and usually everywhere else I go also runs relatively smoothly but then on occasion some holidays have had challenges. At the beginning of this month Makrand and I treated ourselves to twelve days in Bali to celebrate seventeen years of being together.

There of course were a few mishaps and one or two challenges in these twelve days. One of them being in the last seven days of our stay a very loud yoga group booked into the beautifully peaceful boutique resort we were staying at. It turned what is usually a very peaceful and serene resort into a place that reminded me of backpacking days of my youth. We managed and still made the most of it and completely surrendered to what life was presenting us with. We were very happy to see them go on our last day and enjoy the serenity again for our final day in Bali.

Bali is a magical place. The land and people are very special so I was committed to not letting the insensitivity of some young people who were having a great time together taint our experience. Who was I to spoil their fun.

The list of highlights of those twelve days are worth sharing with you all so for those of you who are interested here they are. If not interested just skip to the recipe as it is a good one and not to be missed. After making this recipe I wanted to make it all over again for our next meal, it’s goooooooood!

Highlights from our holiday in Bali

1. The first highlight spending quality time with Makrand. Having a business which is also my passion often sees me neglecting more important things in my life like spending time with loved ones.
The people of Bali are a delight and I love their care for the aesthetic and their wanting to relate. In addition I met two beautiful people Kelly and Olivia, it was a pure delight to hang out with them.
Seeing the beautiful displays of flowers each day and making a daily blessing at the house we were staying was also a big highlight.
Visiting Tanah Lot with Olivia and her dad was magic. This place despite its busy ness is stunning.
Taking a raw food prep class up in Sayan with chef Made of Moksa.
Then almost the most important: eating at Peloton Supershop. We ate most lunches there as well as three dinners and still did not tire of the extensive plant based menu. The staff and the cooks were fabulous and the food so fresh and inspiring.

One of the dishes that we had I so wanted to replicate as soon as I got home so this is what I share with you today. Thank you Peloton Super Shop for your super awesome food and the inspiration to play around in the kitchen to get this recipe sort of similar to what we ate with you.

I used gluten free spaghetti which is made from amaranth, quinoa and brown rice so as you will see in the photo it is a dark looking pasta. If you make this with a regular spaghetti it will look more authentic and possibly look even more delicious.

Spaghetti Carbanara

For 4 to 6

100/150g spaghetti per person

2 king mushrooms or 300g Swiss brown mushrooms cut up into small strips (few in bigger pieces for garnish)

Sprinkling of salt for mushrooms

A good splash of avocado or sunflower oil to cook mushrooms

300g silken tofu

2 tbsp white miso (I used chickpea miso which is more cream than white)

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

¼ cup olive oil

¼ tsp chilli flakes

¼ tsp smoked paprika

Generous amount of pepper to taste

3 tbsp filtered water

Juice of ½ lemon

Chopped parsley for garnish

Place the silken tofu, miso, nutritional yeast, olive oil, chilli, smoked paprika, pepper, filtered water and lemon juice in a blender and whizz until all combined.

Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions.

Meanwhile heat a good splash of oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms. Cook them for 3 to 5 minutes or until you can see they are starting to brown. Then turn and sprinkle on the salt and cook until both sides are brown. Turn heat off and leave in the frying pan (take the bigger pieces out for the garnish if you wish).

Once the spaghetti is cooked strain it and place in with the mushrooms and spoon in the carbanara sauce. You may or may not need it all, it depends on how creamy you like it. Heat it up for a minute or so then serve into individual bowls and garnish with parsley and the bigger pieces of mushroom.

Lots of Comfort Food Recipes

I hate admitting it (as it rarely happens to me) but on return from Bali I caught the flu. No fun but once my appetite returned it had me craving comfort food and the first of my recipes was Greek Lentil Soup. I do teach this recipe in the Vegan Foundation cooking course but for those who are not planning on doing the course any time soon the recipe can also be found in my cook book.

My craving for comfort food also made me realise that my cook book is full of comfort food recipes. So if you have the book it might be worth getting it out of the shelf again and checking out some of the delicious recipes and if you don’t have the book you may want to put it on your wish list or treat yourself to a copy. They are for sale in Mullumbimby at Santos Wholefoods or online through my website.

Have a great week everyone.

With love Veet

Categories:Mains

Tags:Pasta Tofu miso mushrooms