Vegan thyme and white bean cheesy sauce with spiral pasta

When I turned 30, I went to Europe for three weeks and celebrated! One of my best memories is doing a Tuscan cooking class, it was all vegetarian and uber-delicious, and I’ve decided to take this original Tuscan recipe and turn into an easy, delicious plant based meal, perfect for lunch or dinner served with a fresh, crispy salad! The one thing I was taught is to keep onion and garlic separate when cooking pasta sauces, as in if you use garlic you don't use onion, and vice versa. It allows for stronger flavour identification for your palate, and gives that home cooked, simple, rustic truth to your dish. Sometimes I mix that up with other recipes, but never for authentic pasta sauce recipes. I hope you love this as much as I do!

Thyme and White Bean Cheesy Pasta

​Recipe Type: Vegan Lunch or dinner
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients

• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tins of cannellini beans, with water
• 1 and a half cups of nutritional yeast (Can add up to 2 cups for additional cheesiness depending on what delights your taste buds)
• 1 bunch of fresh lemon thyme (about 40-50 grams), de-stemmed.
• 1 zest of a lemon
• 1 lemon juiced
• salt and pepper to taste (1-2 teaspoons of each, I find nutritional yeast needs salt to bring out the flavor).
• ½ - 1 teaspoon of chili

 
Optional garnish:
Fresh sprigs of Lemon Thyme.
 
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and cook pasta as per their directions.
 
Sauté the oil and onion with a medium-low heat in a large skillet until the onions are soft and translucent. About 3-5 minutes. Add cannellini beans and the brine from the can, and cook for a further five. You can use a hand held blender or mash the beans, the blender will make it a smoother texture.
 
Add nutritional yeast, fresh thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix until taste. Ensure you’re happy with the level of salt, pepper, cheesiness and chili. Some people like to add a teaspoon of mustard to deepen the flavors of cheese, but it’s an optional addition.
 
When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to bowls;  then dress with the thyme and white bean cheese sauce. You can garnish with sprigs of lemon thyme if desired. Now enjoy, this cheesy, white bean and thyme sauce!
 
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Love and light,

Penelope

Original recipe for Two People