Zucchini pasta carbonara with coconut bacon
Serves 4
In my past life, I absolutely loved pasta carbonara. Eggy, creamy, garlicky sauce and bacon… what’s not to love? Except it isn’t exactly the healthiest dish in the world. One of the cool things about raw vegan food is that you can get really creative and recreate the pleasure and enjoyment of your favourite foods, without all the other bad stuff that can come along with them and reduce your quality of life.
When I first made this dish it was a cold day, and I just wanted something comforting, hearty and filling. I had some Coconut bacon and zucchini in the fridge, so I got out my blender and whipped up a quick sauce, spiralised those zooks, and was soon chowing down on some pretty comforting food. Since then, it’s been a bit of a mission remembering exactly what I put in it, but this version will get you pretty close.
Truffled Brazil nut parmesan
155 g (5½ oz/1 cup) Brazil nuts
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon truffle salt
Zucchini pasta
8 large zucchini (courgettes)
45 g (1½ oz/1 cup) baby English spinach leaves, shredded
Carbonara sauce
465 g (1 lb/3 cups) activated cashew nuts
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons coconut nectar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
185 ml (6 fl oz/¾ cup) filtered alkaline water
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon black salt
To serve
1 batch Coconut bacon, sliced into 5 mm (¼ inch) strips
30 g (1 oz/½ cup) roughly chopped curly parsley
- Put all the ingredients for the truffled Brazil nut parmesan in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is the texture of fine crumbs. Set aside.
- To prepare the zucchini pasta, peel the zucchini, then either spiralise it (see Tip), or use a mandoline or vegetable peeler to shave the zucchini into thin fettuccini strips. Place in a large mixing bowl, add the spinach and mix together. Set aside.
- Blend all the carbonara sauce ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth. Pour over the zucchini pasta, then massage together until well combined. Divide among four serving bowls.
- Top with the truffled Brazil nut parmesan and coconut bacon. Garnish with the parsley and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper and serve.
tipIf it’s cold outside, you can pop the zucchini pasta into the dehydrator for 2 hours at 40°C (105°F), or leave it in the oven on its lowest setting, with the door slightly ajar, to serve it warm.