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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Simplest vegan pasta ever

January 18, 2020 by Ania - 17

comfort food, easy, gluten-free, Italiango to recipe

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simplest vegan pasta plate

From one day to the next, food has ceased to be pleasure and has become a chore for me! I had braces put on my teeth on Thursday and despite me worrying about not being able to withstand the pain (it’s been okay so far), food has actually been the biggest challenge for me.

I am a foodie, I love food, I normally thrive on coming up with new recipes (hence this blog) and I love texture. Now, suddenly, all of that is off the table for the next 15-18 months. I am miserable as hell.

Duncan, who has had braces for the past 2 years (they are coming off in 2-3 months), tells me that this will pass within a week and I will simply learn to eat and enjoy most food with braces. I really hope he is right as even porridge, which I thought would be easy, is impossible to eat right now. I find that half of it gets trapped between my cheeks and the wire and just sits there and I only just realise when I brush my teeth after my meal. Tomorrow, I plan to blend my morning porridge after I cook it as it’s just too frustrating otherwise.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that I am incredibly lucky to be able to fix my wonky teeth and I am grateful for that fact. It’s just that this has caught me somehow unawares. I was expecting pain, but now I am worried about my ability to do this job! I hope it’s going to get better as I assume that a year and a half of baby food might push me over the edge 😉 .

Today’s recipe is the simplest vegan pasta ever. I made it for Duncan earlier on this week when he was recovering from a short bout of gastric flu. I was too busy managing our floor restoration guys to go shopping for groceries and capers, garlic and parsley was all I was able to find in the fridge. He loved it and when I moaned about feeling uninspired due to braces making me hate all food, he said I must make this pasta for the blog as it’s simple and incredibly tasty and he is confident that it will rock loads of people’s worlds. I vowed not to mess with it by adding any extra ingredients or process to how I made it for him, so here it is. As simple as it gets. Enjoy while I’ll crawl into a hole hoping to feel better about food after a week.

PS: If you do make my simplest vegan pasta ever, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram (#lazycatkitchen). I love seeing your take on my recipes.

simplest vegan pasta ingredients

simplest vegan pasta prep

simplest vegan pasta

5.00 from 6 votes
Print
  • serves: 2
  • prep: 10 min
  • cooking: 10 min

Ingredients

  • 200 g / 7 oz spaghetti or rigatoni pasta (use GF for gluten-free version)
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, very finely diced
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 4 tbsp capers, very finely diced
  • fresh parsley, very finely chopped
  • a good pinch of chilli flakes (I used fine Korean chilli flakes), optional or black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Cook the pasta in plenty of water, just short of al dente. Save a small cup of pasta cooking water just before you drain it.
  2. Gently heat up olive oil in a non-stick pan (I like to use a stainless steel one for this dish). Add the garlic and allow it to fry on a very low heat, stirring frequently. Do not let it brown as it will make it taste bitter.
  3. Once the garlic is softened and fragrant, add nutritional yeast, about 2 tbsp of the pasta cooking water you saved earlier and 1 tbsp of caper brine. Stir everything together so that you get a light emulsion that will coat your pasta. Allow it to simmer gently for a few seconds.
  4. Add drained pasta, chopped capers and parsley to the pan. Toss well. Taste and season – you may not need any salt as capers are salty. It depends on your capers and how much salt you like on your food.
  5. Divide between two bowls, sprinkle with chilli (if using) or black pepper.

Notes

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Pamela says

    January 18, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    Oh, sweetie, get some dental wax for the braces and cover the spots giving you trouble. Duncan is right, you will feel like your old self soon. Thanks for this lovely pasta. good luck!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 19, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      Thank you for your words of encouragement. Yes, I do believe you are right. I am using orthodontic wax and it does help. Hoping to be able to enjoy more foods again soon. x Ania

      Reply
  2. Eddy says

    January 19, 2020 at 7:36 pm

    Hello Ania, I’m not much of a social media type-of-person, so writing this reply is a rarity. I check-in to your site almost every day and I am delighted when I see a picture of a dish I hadn’t seen before. Even this simple dish looks really nice, I will try it out.
    I can understand that food isn’t top priority for you at this moment. But I hope you’ll get used to your braces soon and enjoy what you are really good at: coming up with interesting recipes.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 19, 2020 at 7:56 pm

      Thank you for your kind words, Eddy and thank you for taking the time to comment. I do hope that I will get used to this and will soon feel better about eating as I have plenty of exciting new recipes sketched out and I am eager to start working on them asap. x Ania

      Reply
  3. Jacqueline Maurice says

    January 20, 2020 at 12:15 am

    Hope you’re feeling better soon. My daughter and I made this last night for dinner it was so simple to throw together and tasted so amazing. I had the wide rice noodles on hand so that’s what we used and we don’t cook with oils so we just added some chopped olives along with the capers. Amazing! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 20, 2020 at 1:33 pm

      Thanks, Jacqueline! I do hope so too. That’s fantastic to hear that you enjoyed this pasta and thank you for letting me know. x Ania

      Reply
  4. M Hung says

    January 21, 2020 at 3:08 am

    1/20/2020 MADE THIS RECIPE TODAY ..
    Folllowed recipe to the letter*. 3 Tbsp olive oil.
    [* made a bit more than 1/2 lb angel hair, cuz less would not hve been enough]
    cooked angel hair 1-1/2 min +- just by tasting for pre-al dente firmness.
    The only time consuming job was prepring the capers and fresh parsley very thin.
    Result: ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS w/vegan parmesan cheese on top.
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 21, 2020 at 2:37 pm

      My pleasure, I am so happy you enjoyed it so much! I love angel hair pasta too, but my husband isn’t a fan. Agreed, chopping is the most time consuming part, but you get quicker with practice. Ania

      Reply
  5. Pauline says

    February 6, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    Made this tonight after a nightmare journey home from work and it was exactly what was needed. Simple tasty and filling. This is going on regular rotation, so yummy. Thanks

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 7, 2020 at 1:12 am

      Thanks, Pauline! I am so pleased you liked it and I am sorry you had a nightmare of a commute – I do remember these too well from when I used to work at an office. Glad the food brought you a little of comfort. x Ania

      Reply
  6. Hilary says

    February 20, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    Made this last night but sauteed broccoli and scallions with the oil and garlic first. AMAZING!!!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 20, 2020 at 3:22 pm

      Thanks, Hilary. I am glad you enjoyed this and both broccoli and scallions sound like delicious additions. Ania

      Reply
  7. magdalena wiktorzak says

    May 18, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    Hi Ania
    I know it is not recipe related question ,but you always plating your dishes in such a lovely plates and bowls .Can you mention some brands?

    thank you

    Reply
    • Ania says

      May 18, 2020 at 8:28 pm

      Hi Magdalena,

      Aw, thanks so much. Since we’ve moved so much over the past few years, all my pottery is a bit of an incoherent mess, from all sorts of places – some I bought while living in Greece, some on Etsy and some in all random independent shops when travelling. I tend to look for local makers and get stuff from them. These particular plates are from a Bristol-based potter – Liz Vidal. Hope that helps. Ania

      Reply
  8. magdalena wiktorzak says

    May 19, 2020 at 10:17 am

    thank you so much Ania,I will browse it your recommendations
    Take care 😉

    Reply
  9. Clara Hodiamont says

    February 27, 2021 at 9:53 pm

    This is one of my favourite pasta recipes whenever I am craving something very savoury and quick. I usually add some fresh lemon zest as well. Delicious! And a super quick meal. Thank you so much for this simple and tasty recipe, I have been making it a lot 🙂 My teeth are very sensitive so when I got braces as an adult a few years back it was a nightmare. Food is my main hobby and just like you wrote above, from one day to the next, food became a painful chore. And meal preparation was not about taste or cravings anymore but about “what can I cook today that is so soft that I can crush it with my tongue but still nutritious”. It has been a year since this post so I really hope that it has gotten easier for you or that you might even be rid of your braces by now 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 28, 2021 at 2:22 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Clara! I’m delighted to hear that you enjoy this pasta. Also thank you for your kind words re: braces and sorry you’ve had a similar experience. My husband was right, I did get used to them although I still cannot wait till they finally come off. It’s been a year but due to the pandemic there was a bit of a delay in adjustments so I am bracing myself for another 6 months – my dentist is very coy and does not want to give me any time estimates cos he doesn’t want me to get attached to them I think 😉 x Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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