Avocado Cream Sauce Penne (Vegan)

Avocado is a great ingredient for a very creamy but vegan pasta sauce. With utterly simple seasoning — salt, pepper and lemon juice, it’s heavenly easy and delicious!

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What to do with a ripe avocado? I tried a very delicious beet, citrus and avocado salad, and a simple avocado open toast with egg, but you can also turn it into a pasta sauce! It’s very moist, fatty in a good way, and creamy without adding any heavy cream. Simply season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Delicious.

How to Pick a Good and Ripe Avocado

However, you’ve got to have a little luck to buy a good avocado. No matter how good-looking it is, you can still find inside brownish or some black dots. To me, it’s still perfectly edible. I always pick those dark-green or almost black in colour, when gently squeeze, it should have a firm softness but not mushy. Pear-shape is better than oval since the seed tends to be smaller.

Avocado Cream Sauce Penne Recipe

It may looks dry in the photo, but actually it’s moist enough after mixing well. Butter is added to enhance the fragrance and mouthful feeling.

Ingredients

Serves：2

• 160 g penne
• ½ aubergine
• 100 g baby spinach
• 2 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• pasta cooking water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 10 g butter (optional)
• olive oil
• Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

How to Make

1. Cut the aubergine into 2cm width baton shape. Warm 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, cook the aubergines with a pinch of salt, until they are soft and take on some colour. Then set aside.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the penne. Meanwhile, mash the avocado into a smooth paste.
3. In the same pan, heat some more oil and fry the garlic over medium-low until fragrant. Then add the mushroom to cook until softened.
4. Return back the aubergines and throw in the spinach, spoon in a ladleful of pasta cooking water.
5. Add in penne, butter(optional), mashed avocado, lemon juice, and give everything a nice stir. If it appears to be too dry, add some more pasta cooking water.
6. Have a taste first, adjust with salt and lemon juice if required. Before serving, freshly grate in Parmesan cheese and a few twist of black pepper.