Cheesy Basil & Sundried Tomato Pasta

Serves: 1

Ready in: 15 to 30 mins

Quick Make Vegan Friendly

Know your nutrients

Calories

550 -

Fat

15.7g -

Saturates

9.6g -

Sugars

4.1g -

Salt

0.61g -

Protein

27g -

Carbs

73.6g -

Fibre

3.5g -

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"This sauce is based on the Italian dish cacio e pepe (‘cheese and pepper’), where the sauce is made with just cheese, pasta cooking water and black pepper. A good trick for adding more flavour is to reduce the amount of water you cook the pasta in. Usually the ratio of pasta to water is 1:10, so for example, 100g of pasta would normally be cooked in 1,000ml (1 litre) of water. However, if you cook the pasta in less water – for example, using a 1:5 ratio (100g of pasta cooked in 500ml of water) – it means the pasta cooking water will be more intensely starchy, which will make it easier to form a creamy sauce, and it will be more salty, too." Recipe extracted from The Happy Pear: Vegan Cooking for Everyone by David and Stephen Flynn (£20, Penguin)

Cheesy Basil & Sundried Tomato Pasta Recipe: Veggie

Ingredients
Method

Ingredients:

100g pasta
45g grated vegan Parmesan-style cheese
10g fresh basil leaves
30g sun-blushed tomatoes

method:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, according to the packet instructions, until al dente, but first making sure that you work out the 1:5 ratio of pasta to cooking water based on how many portions of pasta you’re making. Drain the pasta in a colander set over a separate large pot so that you can reserve all of the cooking water. Set the pasta aside and continue to boil the pasta water for a further two minutes to concentrate the starch.
Put the cooked pasta into its original large pot along with the cheese and the herbs or seasoning. Slowly add the reduced pasta water a little at a time until the sauce starts to come together. As you stir, try to bang the pasta off the sides of the pot so that the pasta releases its starch and this creates an emulsion with the melted cheese. A silky-smooth sauce should start to form.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with a little more salt if needed, though it will probably be salty enough from the reduced cooking water and the cheese.
Stir in the tomatoes, then divide the pasta between wide, shallow bowls and serve straight away, with extra vegan Parmesan on the side for sprinkling over.

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