Creamy Leek & Mushroom Pasta with Peas
Mushrooms, leeks and vegan cheese sauce party together to make a creamy, savoury dish.
Gluten-free or Wheat-free option
Use GF or WF pasta or noodles
Budget option
Use value mushrooms
Total time
25 minutes
Cuisine
Italian
Meal
- mains
- lunches
- sides-light-meals-and-salads
- vegetable-side-dishes
Servings
4
Ingredients
- 60ml/4tbsp olive oil
- 3 leeks, sliced into rounds (or ready-prepped leeks)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped (or 1 tsp garlic paste)
- 225g/8oz/3 cups chestnut or portobella mushrooms – or any type you like – sliced
- 110g/4 oz frozen peas, lightly steamed or microwaved
- 1tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg or allspice
- 375g/13oz/3 cups pasta of choice – noodles or spirali are good. Use rice or other g/f pasta/noodles for a gluten-free option
- 75ml/5 tbsp vegan cream cheese, eg Sainsbury’s, Sheese, Tesco or Tofutti
- 30ml/2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or parsley, to garnish
- Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
Serving options
These also provide extra protein and other nutrients
- Lentil & tomato salad with walnuts and vinaigrette – use whole lentils, eg green, brown or puy, and rinse and drain well first
- Bean salad with finely chopped chives, parsley or spring onions – use a tin of mixed salad beans (rinse and drain as above) or else one nice variety, eg white haricot beans – serve with vinaigrette or vegan mayo
- Fresh soya beans (edamame) or baby broad beans, steamed until tender and served with a hint of garlic, lime juice and salt
Instructions
- Heat water for pasta in a large pan.
- Add pasta and cook 8-12 minutes, according to packet instructions and how soft you like to eat it. Cook the peas now if you haven’t already done so.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large heavy-based frying pan and sauté leeks and garlic for 3 minutes until soft.
- Add mushrooms, oregano and chilli flakes and cook gently for 5 minutes more until mushrooms tender. If using one of the salad options, get this ready now also.
- Drain pasta, reserving 60ml/4tbsp cooking water for mushroom mixture.
- Stir this water into mixture, then add cream cheese, peas and seasoning.
- Heat gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To serve, spoon sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with the tarragon or parsley. Serve any of the options now too, if using.
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