It’s Bonfire night! Since the 5th is a weekday this year, most of the fireworks displays took place over the weekend when it was, predictably, raining.
Bonfire night always seems to signal the real start of Autumn weather and indeed the temperature has certainly dropped these last couple of days. I’m back on porridge for breakfast and looking for warming meals to fill my tummy after coming in from the cold.
I don’t eat pasta all that often these days. I think maybe I had my fill of it when I was younger when plain pasta was one of the few meals fussy little me liked. I tend to think of it as boring and not particularly nutritious, but I’m realizing that it doesn’t have to be so. Add some beans, greens and wintry herbs and you’ve got a tasty, healthy, and satisfying meal.
I know this dish doesn’t look terribly inspiring but I promise it tastes a lot better than it looks. The creamy sauce is made from white beans and packs a punch of protein as well as bringing the herby mushrooms, pasta and kale together nicely.
Creamy White Bean Pasta with Mushrooms & Sage:
Pasta for 4 people (I like Dove’s Farm Brown Rice Pasta)
1/2T Olive Oil
1 Small Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1C White Beans
1T White Miso
1T Lemon Juice
1 1/2C Vegetable Broth
1/2T Olive Oil
250g/8oz Mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced thickly
2T Minced Fresh Sage
Salt & Pepper
A few large handfuls of kale or other greens, chopped
Make the white bean sauce first. Sauté onion over medium heat for 5 minutes in the olive oil, add the garlic and continue to cook for a further couple of minutes.
If you have an immersion blender add the beans, broth, miso and lemon juice to the pot and blend until smooth. Alternatively, transfer onion mixture to a blender, add the other ingredients and blend until smooth. Return to pot and heat gently until warmed through. Add more broth if you prefer a thinner sauce.
Cook pasta according to packet directions.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and sauté mushrooms along with the sage for approx 5 minutes, or until they’ve released their juices. Season with salt and pepper.
Steam greens.
Either add everything to the pasta and mix well to coat with the sauce or layer the separate components on individual plates.
Serves 4
I’ve got so much I want to share with you but am lacking the time to post it at the moment. I hope you’ll all bear with me!
What are your favourite pasta-dishes?
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Adam Hughes says
oh,that looks-Scrumptious :O)
coconutandberries says
Thanks Adam! And extra thanks for sharing!
Adam Hughes says
Reblogged this on Freedom for Cetaceans and commented:
Yum,Yum!
sophiazerg says
It looks SO good. Lovely photos as always.
coconutandberries says
Thank you Sophia. Just finished off my batch of cashew cheese this evening. Yum!
Poppy says
Looks delicious! I’m a sucker for creamy sauces and mushrooms!!
coconutandberries says
Mushrooms are another one of those things I used to hate with a passion but now love!
Poppy says
Oh my gosh! I’ve always loved them! I’m very impressed that you went from a hate to love with them! Most people never change their food aversions! 😀
coconutandberries says
My food-tastes have done a complete u-turn over the years! I still find it so bizarre that I didn’t like ANY fruit until I reached my teens.
Poppy says
Fascinating! I’ve been lucky, I’ve always loved fruits and veg! Mind you, I have learnt to love fruit more as I’ve grown up!
Liane says
This looks so good, I love mushrooms I usually make them with some coconut milk and parsley^^
coconutandberries says
Mmmm that sounds good. Reminds me of an old recipe of mine for Creamy Spinach & Leek Stuffed Mushrooms where I used coconut milk.
Johanna GGG says
I love pasta with beans though I usually don’t blend them. I went through a phase when I hardly had pasta because I’d had a gutful of it - but now I appreciate it in a different way - as something that takes a backseat to the vegies - just like your dish in fact
coconutandberries says
It’s definitely a nice filler. I love a minestrone-type soup with beans and little pasta shapes
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
I’m exactly like you with pasta - but this is exactly the sort of dish that I’m rediscovering in my efforts to break out of the ‘pasta is boring’ belief. Happy bonfire day celebrations too! It’s not something we have here in Australia but I’ve always loved the sound of it
coconutandberries says
We seem to have fewer “holidays” than other countries so I’m keen to hold on to Bonfire Night! It is a fun one.
Laura says
I love the white bean/mushroom/kale combo - this looks delicious!
coconutandberries says
Thanks Laura. I really enjoyed this one. Lots of my favourite things rolled together!
flickingthevs says
I know what you mean about pasta - it’s one of those thing I don’t often really crave. But I love mushrooms, kale and white beans together - such a good combination!
coconutandberries says
The sauce, herby mushrooms and kale would be nice toppers for any grain or even mashed potatoes in fact. I did enjoy the pasta for a change though.
sonja@vesenmork says
I’ve always been a pasta lover, I don’t think I could get easily bored of it, although I haven’t had the cooked version in quite some time now. Another thing to put on my list to make now that I’ve allowed myself to enjoy cooked foods again. But I love raw pasta as well. I’m a sucker for pesto, on raw or cooked pasta. It’s funny, when we started dating, Geert hated pasta, he refused to eat it, while I loved it dearly. So we comprimised: I would stop smoking (yeah, did that once upon a time) and he would learn to eat pasta. He loves it now, eats it several times a week (he’s an exercise junkie so he needs the carbs and thank you lord, my man loves to cook himself). Still I probably got the better end of the deal 😉
Richard Hill says
I do think it looks inspiring as well as tasty I’m glad you’ve been reconverted to pasta. I’m not sure I could manage without it. By the way, do you know a way of veganising spaghetti Bolognese? Xx
coconutandberries says
Hello there! I was just wondering if you were reading earlier this evening. I owe you an email!
For spag bol I’m a fan of lentil bolognese- I think I made you a simplified version in Barcelona? Onion,garlic, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs as you would make a typical bolognese then add dried lentils and veg stock, simmer until lentils are cooked, then season with salt + pepper. Voilà!
Richard says
So you did. I had forgotten. I’m excited for the email! Also, something else that made me smile, when you google here one of your links that comes up is about lacuma
coconutandberries says
I did not know you used to smoke- Shock horror! 😉 Oh yes I luuuurve pesto. I seem to put it on everything but pasta though!
Sharon (@GoodStuffSharon) says
Your white bean sauce looks so good! From what I can see in your pics, it looks like it has a similar texture to melted mozzarella cheese. If so, that is awesome! It’s definitely going on my ‘to try’ list! I’ve made white bean pasta sauces in the past and Lil’ L said that they taste like soup… he wasn’t complaining, but that’s definitely not what I was aiming for :/
coconutandberries says
Haha, a “soup” sauce! I can kind of see where Lil’L is coming from. This might be considered a little soupy but I think the miso and lemon gives it a little edge. I also kept it nice and thick.
Maggie Muggins says
For some reason I’m not usually big into pasta when tomatoes are involved but I gobble it up when it’s covered in a creamy bean sauce!
coconutandberries says
I’m more of a creamy sauce person than a tomato-based sauce person these days too. My tastes have completely shifted over time.
Joanne says
I love turning pasta into a healthfull meal with tons of veggies! Yum! And that white bean addition sounds lovely!
coconutandberries says
This was healthy AND comforting!
Senka says
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veganmiam.com says
I love creamy pasta dishes - especially using the white beans! What a fantastic creamy white bean pasta dish - fresh sage, mushrooms, miso, and kale - beautiful!
coconutandberries says
I can’t believe I didn’t like creamy things when I was little. It’s probably my favourite food “texture” now!
Kylee Thomason says
do you think chickpea miso would work for someone who can’t have soy?
coconutandberries says
Definitely- it’s got that same salty, umami taste so I’m sure it would be fine.