No matter how hot it may be outside (not very in this case!) There is always time for some true comfort food. Cheesy (or should that be cheezy?) pasta hits the spot!

I love this simple creamy and full flavoured saurce closely based on this recipe by Oh She Glows.  It’s typically my go to sauce for cheezy based meals over and above the nut versions  purely for its simplicity in my Thermomix (the nut based sources tend to burn onto the bottom of the mixing jug).

This was also an continuation of my recent experiments using brown rice pasta instead of regular wheat pasta…and I can tell you I’m hooked, if I hadn’t known I was eating a GF version I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Just keep a close eye on the cooking time as from what I’ve heard there is a much smaller window of time from it being just cooked to it being overdone and mushy.

This simple bowl of comfort started life like this:

A simple cheese and tomato dish, but then I felt it needed more (plus I had a few leftover soy ‘meat’ chunks from a meal with a friend to use up) so it turned into this hearty monster with mixed beans and grated courgette, plus the soy chunks along with the tomato. You could add anything thing you like to create your very own colourful ‘carbonara’ of sorts, a meat substitute is optional but by no means necessary, it’s very rare that I use ‘fake’ ingredients but this did add a nice smoky taste- a ‘smoked’ vegetable such as pepper could work realty well .

I really hope the sun starts shining soon…I want to be outside wearing shorts, flip flops and sunglasses….not inside wearing jumpers and slippers! I guarantee when that happens there’ll be more salad recipes coming this way. You know what I may just do that anyway!

Recipe: Cheezy pasta 'carbonara'

Serves 2

¾ cup ‘milk’ (I use almond or soy)

6tbs nutritional yeast

1 tbs coconut oil

1 ½ tbs cornflour (or any GF thickener)

2 tsp Dijon mustard (to tatse)

¼ tsp garlic powder

½  tsp salt and pepper

pasta (GF optional) to serve two

selection of veggies

smoked 'meat' (optional)

Method

Melt the coconut oil in a small pan over the hob. Whisk the flour and milk together in a separate bowl ensuring there are no lumps. Add the milk mixture plus all remaining ingredients to the pan and whisk well. Simmer and whisk for approx. 5 mins until thick.

For a hearty pasta dish, cook the brown rice (or regular) pasta accordingly to packet instructions- mine took 6 minutes and then meanwhile cook your selection of veg.

Once the sauce is ready, mix through and eat immediately.