Making rich and creamy sauces without dairy is super easy, as long as you have some plant milk and nutritional yeast. It’s a great store-cupboard sauce to put together for a quick evening supper. It’s so easy but so impressive!

This is a great fast supper, and asparagus is packed with vitamins. Take time to roast them, because it brings out the natural sugars. The slightly crispy tips are divine. To make it non-vegan, fry some pieces of bacon or chicken and put in with the pasta and sauce. Also works well served with a poached egg or some parmesan cheese grated on top.

Ingredients (serves 2): 

1 bunch asparagus

400g dry pasta

4 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp flour

Plant milk

1 tsp nutmeg

Lemon juice

Lime juice

2 cloves garlic

Optional fresh basil, bacon, cheese, or poached egg

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Wash the asparagus and place on a baking tin. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes.

Place salted water in a pan and bring to the boil. Add pasta and cook until slightly al dente, about 10/15 minutes.

In the meantime, chop or mince the garlic as finely as possible. Gently fry it in a pan with a dollop of margarine/butter and the nutmeg. When the garlic is aromatic and the margarine/butter (I use Vitalite) has melted, whisk in some milk gradually. The mixture should start to thicken. Add nutritional yeast and keep whisking the mixture on the heat. The mixture should thicken more, at which point add a good squirt of both lemon and lime juice. Season to taste. Add some fresh basil if you have it.

If using, fry some bacon or poach an egg to add at the end.

Combine the pasta and  sauce, and layer on the asparagus. Add some mixed nuts and seeds for a protein and Omega boost, and you’re ready to go!