Vegan broccoli pasta with almond bacon
Vegan broccoli pasta with almond bacon
Mother Nature has finally let us have some properly summery weather, here in England. I’ve been loving sitting in my garden, with Tina slumped in the shade nearby, reading, sipping a cold brew coffee or a cheeky glass of white wine and eating heaps of delicious strawberries! I don’t want this to end!
I keep on checking the forecast like a hawk, and although this week the sky isn’t as cloudless as it was last week, things are still looking promising. On account of this ridiculously good weather, which let’s face it is a bit of a rarity here, I’ve been putting all my major chores off as I’d rather be topping up my vitamin D instead.
I’m also not overly keen on spending my time in the kitchen this week, so today’s recipe is reflective of that. It is a super simple midweek dinner idea for a lemony vegan broccoli spaghetti topped with sweet, salty and smokey almond bacon bits.
It’s easy to make, delicious and uses my favourite tenderstem broccoli, which is very much in season right now. This dish is crunchy, tangy and a little smokey and quite low on effort, which mean less time in the kitchen and more time in your deckchair with a good book in hand.
- ¼ tsp tomato concentrate
- 10 ml / 2 tsp olive oil
- 10 ml / 2 tsp maple syrup or sugar
- 20 ml / 4 tsp all purpose soy sauce or tamari (if GF)
- ¼ tsp liquid smoke (or ½ tsp smoked sweet paprika)
- 50 g / ½ cup almond flakes
PASTA
- 200 g / 7 oz tenderstem broccoli
- 160 g / 6 oz spaghetti (GF if needed)
- 3-4 tbsp / 45-60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, diced very finely
- ½ hot chilli (optional), deseeded and diced very finely
- juice and zest, 1-2 lemons (adjust to taste)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 120° C / 250° F (100° C / 210° F fan) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
- Mix the almond bacon marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Toss the almond flakes in the marinade and spread them on the prepared baking tray.
- Place the tray in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, giving the almonds a good stir halfway through the baking time. They may appear to still be a little soft when warm but will crisp up once out of the oven and cooled.
PASTA
- While the almond bacon is getting ready, chop your broccoli into same size pieces. You could either steam it (3 minutes), stir-fry it or roast it on a hot griddle pan. Once cooked, season with salt and set aside.
- Cook the pasta al dente following the packet instructions.
- Heat up 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan on a very low heat.
- Throw in the diced garlic and chilli (if using). Fry them both on a very low heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic releases its aroma but do not allow it to brown as it will taste bitter.
- Toss the cooked pasta in the garlic oil. Season with liberal amounts of lemon juice (I used about 3 tbsp), the zest of one lemon, salt and pepper.
- Fold in the warm broccoli.
- Divide between two bowls, top with almond bacon and some extra lemon juice if you wish.
I absolutely ADORE your blog and have made one of your recipes nearly every single day during quarantine! Since I am alone I always have so much left over but am loving having things to hand from the freezer as will always freeze leftovers or jar up bits and bobs as cupboard staples; which leads me to the question - could I batch cook the almond bacon and have it jarred up in the cupboard? Just wondering how well it would keep once marinaded and cooked etc and love the idea of having this in my cupboard ready-made to sprinkle on salads and stuff in a hurry.
Honestly your blog has been a godsend for me during this time, thank you for continuing to post such beautiful recipes
stay safe & sending love x
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I am so happy to hear that my recipes have sustained you through this challenging time! As for your question, I have not tried storing this, but if you put it in an air-tight jar / container once it's cooled off, it should work, I think. It may be a little less crunchy as it will probably wick a bit of moisture from the air, but you could fix that by putting it into a very low oven for a few minutes before serving. Hope this helps and stay safe! x Ania
They were very good on my salad.
Thank you for sharing your recipes. Can’t wait to make more and report back!!!
Sure thing, here are my answers: yes, I mean tomato paste (the one that comes in a squeezy tube, although that might be a European thing) and as for the almonds, I mean flaked almonds or almond flakes. Basically thin slices of almonds as opposed to chunks, which is what slivered means, I think. Although having said that, the other type would work fine too, I'm pretty sure. Hope that helps! Ania
I don't think so as it will simply stick to the pan and burn. It needs to be dried out gently over a long period of time, which is why low oven works. Ania