Well, here we are on another winter-weather Sunday, and yet again the backyard smoker is encased in ice and surrounded by snow. Fortunately, I anticipated just such a move on Mother Nature’s part before going to the grocery store, and as a result I was armed with a new plan when the freezing rain began to fall earlier today!
As far as I’m concerned, there’s no better way to spend a homebound afternoon than in the kitchen making pasta while playing jazz records on the hi-fi. Wes Montgomery and Ramsey Lewis were my cooking companions as I whipped up a batch of vegan bucatini pasta (using this basic recipe from Slow Club Cookery, which has never let me down!). The KitchenAid made the pasta extruding a breeze, and before I knew it I had a meal’s worth of noodles lounging atop a sheet of parchment paper on the kitchen table. I sprinkled some flour on top and nested the noodles in a zip-top bag, putting said bag in the crisper until it was time for dinner!
Then, after LeeLee was back from the gym and I was finished playing several days’ worth of The Sims (it’s a guilty pleasure; what can I say?), it was time to get to work on the business of making dinner. The detailed recipe is below, but the gist of the story is that I started by baking the vegan shrimp – we used Sophie’s Kitchen brand – and then set a pot of water to boil for the noodles. Then I began making the tomato cream sauce (details, again, below!). By the time the noodles were finished and the shrimp had baked through, the sauce was bubbling and thickening nicely, so I mixed the pasta into the Le Creuset and tossed the noodles with the tomato mixture.
We served the shrimp atop our pasta so they didn’t become soggy with the sauce, and that was definitely a wise move in retrospect. Paired with a slice or two of bread and a glass or two of wine, the dish made for an incredibly wonderful Sunday evening meal! The almond milk added a wonderful creaminess to the already-flavorful tomato sauce, and the bucatini soaked up the spices and tang beautifully, the sauce folding itself within the pasta’s hollow tube. LeeLee and I both went back for seconds, and there’s plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. The only thing left to decide is who gets to feast like royalty on a Monday at noon?
This is a recipe I know I’ll turn back to again and again. Simple enough to make for a Sunday supper, yet festive enough to serve to company, it’s a versatile dish that’s always at the ready!
VEGAN SHRIMP BUCATINI WITH TOMATO CREAM SAUCE
Serves 2-4
What you’ll need:
1 package bucatini pasta (or your choice of other pasta)
1 package vegan shrimp
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce for a thicker result)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. basil
1.5 cups almond milk
1 tbsp. vegan butter
Set a pot of water on the stove to boil. Once it’s boiling, cook pasta according to package directions (or, if homemade, to your recipe’s directions), drain, and set aside.
As the pasta cooks, bake the vegan shrimp according to the package directions and set aside (feel free to keep it warm in the oven).
For the sauce: In a large pot or pan, heat the olive oil on Medium and add the onion, sautéing until translucent. Next, add the tomatoes and spices, stir thoroughly, and cook on Medium for 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and thickening slightly.
Next, add the almond milk and vegan butter, stir, and continue cooking on Medium heat. The sauce should continue to thicken a bit – though don’t fret if it’s not super-creamy at this point. It’ll thicken even more after mixing with the pasta.
Add the pasta into the pot with the sauce and toss thoroughly to coat evenly with the tomato cream mixture. Heat for another minute or so on Medium to allow the flavors to blend.
Finally, plate your pasta and top with the shrimp. (We each enjoyed about 5 to 7 pieces of shrimp on our plates, for reference – but the sky’s the limit!) Serve with some parsley for garnish if you like, and enjoy!
:)