Vegan, Wholemeal, Low Fat

Guys I’m back! For good this time!! Come on everybody and hulla dance with me 🙂 🙂 Happy New Years and Christmas, Happy holidays, happy everything I’ve missed in the last few months.

I got a bit overwhelmed keeping updated on this blog at the end of last year, I don’t know if any of you noticed. It can be so stressful thinking of things to post and taking photos etc I just couldn’t find the time to put everything together! So I decided to take a month or two completely off and just think about whether I actually wanted to continue the blog.

I realised that yeah, of course I do! I love blogging and I’m proud of what I’ve created here. I really appreciate all of you, especially those who have supported me from the beginning! And I want to keep pushing to make this better and better.

So there’s lots of very exciting recipes coming up over the next month. This pasta dish may look like a strange jumble of ingredients, but it is so tasty and perfect. The kumara is soft and sweet, the broccoli crunchy, and the whole thing is doused in a salty/sweet balsamic onion relish that I could (and do) eat off a spoon.

You can replace the purple kumara with normal sweet potato or pumpkin, but I love the chewy texture of purple. You can also change the broccoli for asparagus, broccolini, green beans, peas, anything you like. Just remember to tear through a big handful of basil at the end and season generously with pepper and it will be so yummy.

When I made this the first time we ate it warm, but it’s great at room temperature too. And it’s full of healthy whole grains and vegetables, perfect for New Years resolutions (of which I have none… please someone inspire me to kick start some new goals).

I promise I will be back soon and not disappear again! Hope all your holidays are going great 🙂

Wholemeal Pasta Salad with Kumara and Broccoli
serves 4-6

400g wholemeal (spelt is good too) pasta
1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic
1/2 spanish onion, peeled
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large or 2 small purple kumaras, washed and peeled
oil to drizzle
1 large head of broccoli or equivalent greens, cut into florets
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop the garlic and spanish onion very finely, and put in a small bowl. Stir in the oil and vinegar and leave to marinate.

Preheat the oven to 200C (390F) and slice the kumara in inch thick slices, then cut in half. Drizzle with oil and toss on a baking tray. Bake for about 20 minutes, until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water with the teaspoon of salt and cook your pasta until al dente. Heat another pot with water and either steam or boil your peas and broccoli for just 2-3 minutes, until crunchy but cooked.

Drain vegetables and pasta and toss everything together with the vinegar and onion sauce. Season to taste and serve.