Cajun Mushroom Pasta

When people think of noodle dishes, they usually refer to pasta recipes or the famous dishes from (South) East Asia, like Ramen, Glass noodles or Chow Mein, but only a few know of this pasta dish that originates from the US

This Vegan spin on Cajun Chicken Pasta originates from Louisiana and has strong influences from the Cajun cuisine. More specifically, the seasoning mix used for both the mushrooms and the sauce consists of smoky, spicy, and rich flavours from that cuisine.

How to make Cajun Mushroom Pasta

Preparation

First we create our own seasoning mix, for which we simply mix smoked paprika, salt, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, thyme and oregano.

Secondly, soak cashews in some hot water and blend it after 30 minutes. This will be a substitute for the heavy cream used in most recipes. Besides providing more fat, this sauce will balance the rich and smoky flavours from the seasoning mix.

Cooking Steps

• Fry the mushrooms in a pan and add half the seasoning mix
• Add onion, garlic and bell pepper
• Add tomato paste, stir until dissolved
• Add vegetable broth, cooking cream and rest of Cajun seasoning. Let it simmer and flavours infuse
• Start cooking pasta and finish sauce with lemon juice, nutritional yeast and fresh parsley
• Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce

Cooking Tips and Substitutions

1. Mushrooms: I used button mushrooms, but oyster mushrooms work perfectly. Leave them as they are or cut them to your preferred size (slicing, halving). I recommend keeping the slices fairly big to retain some bite to them.
2. Instead of blending soaked cashews, you can use some vegan cooking cream alternative or some coconut milk
3. Substitute the nutritional yeast for vegan parmesan

The Recipe

Cajun Mushroom Pasta

This is a vegan spin on Cajun Chicken Pasta. Originating from the US, this noodle dish, features a rich, spicy and smoky sauce that has influences from the Cajun cuisine.

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Vorbereitungszeit 10 Minuten Min.

Zubereitungszeit 30 Minuten Min.

Portionen: 2

Gericht: Main Course

Küche: American, Cajun, North American

Ingredients Method Notes

Zutaten

  

Cajun Seasoning Mix

• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder optional

Vegetables

• 300 g mushrooms
• 1 white onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 bell pepper de-seeded, diced

Other

• 250 g Pasta
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 200-300 ml vegetable stock
• handful cashews (soaked in 200 ml hot water) *
• 1 lemon juice
• handful fresh parsley chopped
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast *
• Salt
• Black Pepper

Method

 

Preparation

1. Combine the listed seasonings to create a self-made cajun-seasoning mix.
2. Blend the cashews after soaking for 30 minutes.

Prepare the vegetables

1. Clean and optionally cut the mushrooms to your desired size. I recommend not cutting them too small, to retain some bite to them.
2. Dice the onion and cut the bell pepper as small as the onion pieces. Mince the garlic cloves

Cooking Process

1. In a pan, dry-fry the mushrooms on a high heat, stirring occasionally. When they start to develop some colour (7-8 minutes), reduce the heat to medium and add the olive oil. Continue for 2-3 minutes, before adding half the Cajun seasoning. Stir to coat well and continue for 30 seconds.
2. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic cloves. Sauté until soft (5 minutes). Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved.
3. Add vegetable stock and bring to a light simmer. Add blended cashews and stir it in. Let it simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes. Mix in the rest of the cajun seasoning.
4. Bring a pot of water to a boil, heavily salt it and cook your pasta according to package instruction.
5. Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast and fresh parsley to the sauce and give it a final taste. 1-2 minutes before al dente, add the pasta to the sauce (with some pasta water, if needed) and finish cooking it in the sauce

Notizen

• I recommend using button mushrooms (sliced) or oyster mushrooms (halfed)
• Sub for vegan cooking cream or coconut milk
• Use vegan parmesan instead