This pasta is creamy and satisfying and a family pleaser at our house. Top it with sautéed mushrooms, basil and olives for a Mediterranean flavour explosion. Serve with a fresh green salad.

Serves 4

1 packet penne pasta

1 red onion

3 cloves garlic

3/4 cups sundried tomatoes *

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 cup plant based yoghurt

1 3/4 cups unsweetened plant milk

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 handful of fresh basil + some extra to garnish

1 teaspoon ground chili

2 teaspoons vegetable stock

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

3/4 cup chopped tinned tomatoes or fresh

1/2 cup chopped olives

2 cups mushrooms

  1. Put pasta into a pot of boiling water and cook until el dente.

  2. While this boils, finely chop red onions and garlic and sauté in a large pan until soft then transfer into a blender.

  3. Slice mushrooms and use your pan to sauté until brown then transfer them into a small bowl to use as garnish later.

  4. While mushrooms and pasta are cooking make the pasta sauce in a blender. Along with your sautéed onions and garlic add yoghurt, milk, sundried tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, oregano, vegetable stock, basil, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and ground chili. Blend until smooth.

  5. Once pasta is cooked drain water and add to your large pan along with sauce from the blender and mix until combined, cooking for a few minutes.

  6. Serve in bowls with olives, mushrooms and basil as garnish.

To add extra protein to this dish try swap wheat pasta for pulse pasta. Or you could add some nutritional yeast parmesan crumble as a garnish.

To reduce the fat content but keep it nice and creamy use dried soaked sundried tomatoes* and soy yoghurt.

*If you are using oil free sundried tomatoes it is good to soak them in boiling water to soften them first.