Long Player Kitchen

I see a lot of people making creamy avocado pasta recipes on blogs/youtube/twitter and whilst they all look good, none I have seen look great and this is because 99% of the time, it is just pasta and sauce. A good meal, but you will be hungry again quicker than Manchester United conceding goals against Liverpool.

So I was thinking about what else to add and what goes well with avocado. The two that stood out are tomatoes and chicken and therefore, the answer was obvious, include them both. Vegan versions of course.

I like roasted cherry tomatoes in pasta dishes as they bring an amazing sweetness. The ‘chicken’ is Gardeins Scallopinis. One of my favourite vegan products on the market. By themselves they are OK but mess with them a bit and you can make them amazing.

Also, just want to say, Muhammad Ali has sadly just passed away as I am writing this. 2016 has been a HORRIBLE year for losing the greats, but today we lost THE GREATEST. RIP Muhammad Ali.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 200g angel hair pasta
• 1 avocado, cut in half, de-stoned and flesh scooped out
• 1 big handful of parsley leaves
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 gardein scallopinis (or alternative vegan chicken)
• cajun seasoning
• salt and pepper
• optional: spinach to serve

Cook it:

1. Start by roasting your cherry tomatoes. Cut them in half and lay them on a foil lined baking tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over some olive oil. Bake at 120 degrees Celsius for 1 – 1.5 hours
2. Around 20 minutes before the end of the tomato cooking time, place a large pan of water on a high heat and bring to a boil
3. In a food processor, first add the garlic and pulse until it has been mangled, then add the avocado, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Process until you have an avocado sauce that will be slightly too thick
4. Now cook the scallopinis (or whatever chicken replacement you are using) according to the package instructions, using additional Cajun seasoning
5. As the chicken is “resting” add the pasta to the pan. Angel hair pasta should only take 2 or 3 minutes. Drain but before you do, put a mug into the water and reserve a mug of the starchy cooking water. Add the pasta back into the dry pan
6. Put the food processor back on and slowly add the reserved water until the sauce is a little looser. Don’t go overboard here. At this point, season with salt and pepper and taste to make sure all flavours are balanced
7. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir to make sure all pasta is covered in sauce
8. Divide pasta between 2 plates with a small portion of spinach on the side. Slice the ‘chicken’ into small slices and pile on top of the pasta and garnish the plate with the now roasted cherry tomatoes
9. Think to yourself “Damn, I’m amazing”
10. Get it into ya!

Recommended Tunes:

Small Faces “Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake”

Listen – but do yourself a favour and buy it on vinyl!!