Who doesn’t love carbs?!

Now, if you can’t do gluten, that’s one thing, but, thankfully, there’s plenty of gluten free pastas out there to choose from!

Being vegan, it can get tiresome relying on tomato based pasta sauce so this has been a really nice change! And if you have a carnivore, like my husband, throw in some cooked diced chicken. He actually really enjoyed it!

Now, the nice thing about this recipe is that you can adjust some of the ingredients – the mushroom, kale and sundried tomatoes. Add more, add less, remove all together, substitute spinach… so many options!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, diced  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste 
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, rinsed and cut
• 2 cup kale, rinsed, stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 6 ounces (170g) pasta of choice (including gluten-free)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to cook the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the onions and season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned around the edges. Add the garlic and thyme, and stir to combine for 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. While the onions are cooking, pour the vegetable broth into a cup or bowl and add in the soy sauce and flour. Whisk to combine until all the flour is dissolved. I use a shaker cup and it works great.
4. Add mushrooms and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Pour the vegetable broth-flour mixture into the onion-garlic mixture and whisk to combine, ensuring there are no flour clumps. It should thicken almost immediately. Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in the coconut milk, tahini, nutritional yeast, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and very creamy, whisking occasionally.
6. Add sundried tomatoes and kale. Stir until mixed. Allow to cook 3-5 minutes.
7. Stir in the Dijon mustard, and taste for seasonings, adding more salt as needed. Add the hot cooked pasta directly into the sauce and toss to coat until all the pasta is coated.