On Vegan Green Pasta and How to Hide Broccoli

Not many people know this, but I am a total pasta groupie.

Seriously, one of my absolute favorite things to devour for lunch is pasta.

Maybe it's because my mother was born in Italy, or perhaps because in my past I was an endurance athlete, but I've always been drawn to recipes featuring rich, wonderful pasta with diverse and delicious sauces.

Surprisingly, I don't have many pasta recipes on the blog, so here I am, correcting that injustice.

A Bit About Vegan and Whole Wheat Pastas

True, fresh pasta usually contains eggs and is therefore not vegan, but dried pastas don't contain eggs and are perfectly vegan-friendly.

I prefer eating whole wheat pasta simply because the protein content and the amount of dietary fiber are higher, making it more satiating. However, there's no health-related reason to avoid regular pasta.

If the kids insist or you just really feel like it, go for it.

Regarding sauces: (This is the tricky part)

A pasta sauce can be the Achilles' heel of the dish, containing a staggering amount of calories and fat.

In my non-vegan past, I used to love making pasta with a creamy pesto sauce—a dish I can now estimate at 1000 kcal or even more.

The vegan version before you tastes very similar to a creamy pesto sauce but is made from vegan ingredients that are low in calories yet rich in protein and calcium. (What more could we ask for in life, right?)

Now comes the best part of this post

In this dish, I managed to disguise broccoli by using Sunfrost broccoli crumbles, which I blended thoroughly with plenty of basil, silken tofu, and olive oil.

Listen to me: no child will ever realize they are eating broccoli—guaranteed.

I tested this recipe on one particularly sweet boy who hates broccoli; he inhaled it and even asked for seconds. What do you think? Should I tell him?

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How to enjoy it?

A single serving of this pasta can be the perfect solution for a rich and nutritious lunch, or alternatively as a dinner when you have endurance training the next morning, or if you simply want a festive meal.

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Nutritional values by fitness coach and nutritionist Noam Bechar:

One 300g serving of pasta contains:

420 kcal

20g protein

45g carbs

16g fat (of which 2g is saturated fat)

10g dietary fiber.
If you swap the tablespoon of olive oil for a teaspoon, you'll save 50 kcal. But it's not a must.

Another recipe with basil? How about baked tofu cutlets?

Print

Vegan Green Pasta

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

• 200 g whole wheat pasta after cooking
• 200 g silken tofu
• 40 g fresh basil approx. 1 cup
• 200 g broccoli crumbles (frozen/Sunfrost)
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

1. Start with the sauce.
2. Place the broccoli crumbles in a colander and defrost them under lukewarm running water.
3. In a high-speed blender, add all the sauce ingredients except for the cherry tomatoes, and blend thoroughly until a smooth, fragrant sauce is formed.
   
4. Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's instructions.
5. Transfer to a deep bowl and mix with the sauce.
6. Garnish with a few sliced cherry tomatoes and serve.

A Few Notes

You can upgrade the dish by adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast for a cheesier flavor, or sprinkle some ground almonds on top for a parmesan-style finish.