Pumpkin Curry Pasta with Sautéed Mushrooms

So today I woke up and wasn’t feeling very hungry, -The most unusual thing as I always wake up wanting to eat up my whole cupboard… so I made myself a coffee and did some uni work (sometimes I find that just a cup of black coffee is all I need to completely focus on my work and avoid from procrastinating too much, especially on Sundays). By 1 o’clock I was starving and so I decided to make a pasta dish, as I find it very filling and delicious.

As you may have noticed from my recent posts, I love pumpkin! And plus, it’s now in season so got to make the most of it. For this recipe, I used coconut milk for the sauce to get a creamy consistency and really, it was the best decision. So make sure you buy it if you’re keen to make this recipe which I genuinely recommend you!

This dish, in particular, is not vegan as I drizzled some parmesan cheese on top. However, the sauce is completely vegan.

Ingredients

• 5-6 Portobellini mushrooms

• 2 handfuls baby spinach

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• ½ yellow onion

• ½ red onion

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 small tomato

• Grated ginger

• 1/4 roasted pumpkin

• 2 teaspoons curry powder

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• Chili flakes

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 125ml. coconut milk

• Water

• 170g. whole-wheat pasta

• Drizzled grated parmesan (optional)

Method

1. Properly wash the mushrooms and spinach. Slice the mushrooms and heat up a pot with 1tbsp of olive oil. Once heated, add the mushrooms, reduce to medium heat and cook for 7-8 minutes. Add the spinach and some pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside in a small bowl.

2. Chop the onions, garlic cloves and tomato. In the same pot heat 1tbsp of olive oil and add the onions. Cook until onions turn translucent and add the garlic, grated ginger and chili flakes (add more or less depending on how spicy you like it). Cook for 3 mins.

3. Add the rest of the spices and chopped tomato. Cook in low heat (level 4-5) and meanwhile mashed the roasted pumpkin (I used a fork as didn’t have a potato masher). Add the pumpkin and combine well with rest of ingredients.

4. Cover with water and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender. Finally, stir coconut milk, nutritional yeast and sautéed mushrooms and combine well. Turn the heat off and leave it to stand for a few minutes for all the flavors to mix.

5. Drizzle with some parmesan cheese (or other of your choice) and ENJOY this succulent and nutritious dish!