Zacchary Bird
Zacchary Bird
The vegan butcher, the vegan baker and the vegan trouble maker.

For dozens and dozens of my favourite crowd pleasing recipes, download a copy of my new ebook: Meals for Mere Mortals! It’s full of jokes, cooking hacks and heaps of dishes I know you’ll love.

People who hate kale are inherently bad cooks. Kale, when smothered in salt and olive oil and baked is one of the most delicious gifts our planet has given us, and I refuse to accept people's negative opinion of kale when they've yet to try this. By using this method, making things such as kale pesto, kale pasta and more can be taken to a whole new flavour level simply by baking it first.

This recipe takes the humble kale chip and combines it with a classic béchamel style white sauce, onion, garlic and mushrooms. Chilli and lemon juice complete the flavour profile, and if the reviews I've had are anything to go by - this is one of the most delicious pasta sauces I've ever made! Deconstructed, this recipe serves as a great white cheesy sauce base and kale chips separately - but you don't want to miss out on it all combined!

Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Chip Pasta

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbspn margarine

  • 3/4 chopped onion

  • 5 chopped garlic cloves

  • 250-275g chopped mushrooms

  • 1.5 cups soy milk (I used soy milky lite)

  • Half cup of flour

  • 3/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • Chilli flakes to taste

  • 3/4 bunch of kale

  • Olive oil and salt

METHOD

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and remove kale leaves from stem. Place on a tray covering in baking paper and smother in olive oil and salt. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until crispy and delicious.

  • Place margarine in a pan over medium heat and melt before adding onion - cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes before adding mushrooms. Cook altogether for 4 or so more minutes until browned.

  • Pour in soy milk and stir until the mushroom, garlic and onion are thoroughly mixed through and flavour is immersed in the soy milk. Whilst stirring, add nutritional yeast and flour in small increments until fully dispersed. The sauce should be quite thick by now,

  • Chop baked kale chips into small fragments and add to sauce, stirring throughout. Finish with chilli flakes to taste and squeeze lemon juice on top when you serve the sauce with your choice of spaghetti. Enjoy!