One pot creamy cajun pasta

Welcome to my first recipe blog post (and the first recipe video from my YouTube channel). I want to keep things short and sweet (or savoury, as it may be) on these recipe blog posts, so I'm just going to jump straight in with all the written details. I will write some side notes as I go and maybe a few more details at the bottom, but other than that I will keep things as simple as possible.

Ingredients

• Half a white onion- diced

• 3 garlic cloves- finely chopped or minced

• 1 pepper (colour of your choice)- roughly chopped

• 4 mushrooms- roughly chopped

• 1 TBSP of cajun seasoning (adjust depending on how spicy/strong you like it)

• 200g pasta (which I think is around 3 cups)- On this occasion I used the shell type, use your favourite kind, Spaghetti works well too

• 500ml Veg stock

• 75g Vegan soft cheese- This can be found at most supermarkets in the "free from" section

• Olive oil, salt and pepper (all optional and to taste)

Method

1. Heat the oil over a low/medium heat and gently fry off the onion, then add the garlic after a few minutes, then the cajun seasoning and stir well to combine. I also tend to add a little water at this point to prevent the seasoning from sticking.

2. once the seasoning starts to produce a strong aroma (keep the heat low to prevent it from burning) add the pepper and mushrooms, combine it all really well so the cajun is also coating the veggies. Also season with salt and pepper at this point if you like. Place the lid on the pan and allow the veggies to infuse for a couple of minutes.

3. Now it's time to add in the pasta and cover it with the stock. Pop the lid back on and turn up the heat to bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Then remove the lid, stir and turn the heat down to a gentler boil until the pasta is cooked how you like it. During this time the liquid will reduce down. Do add more water if it starts to go too dry whilst cooking. When the pasta is cooked you want there to be a small amount of liquid remaining at the bottom of the pan.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and add in your soft cheese. Mix it in well, coating all the pasta and veggies. Serve straight away.

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Notes

• To make this recipe oil free just add a splash of water at the start to fry your onions in and make sure you use a good non stick pan.

• It is important to remove the pan from the heat before adding the soft cheese as some brands do go a bit lumpy when they are continuously heated. The heat from the pot will be enough to melt the cheese down and the remaining liquid will give it a more silky texture.

• On this particular occasion I just used a plain soft cheese as it's all they had in the supermarket at the time. However a garlic and herb flavoured one also works well and let me know if you find anymore flavours that work.

• The reason I say serve straight away is because when you reheat it, again the cheese can go a bit lumpy!

• If you're feeling adventurous you can blend together your own cajun seasoning, but that's a bit too much effort for me so I just buy a pot from the supermarket.

• To make this recipe gluten free simply switch out the pasta for a gluten free alternative and ensure the stock cube has no gluten containing ingredients. Also double check if you buy a ready made cajun seasoning as some of them do contain gluten.

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If you re-create this or any of my other recipes I would love for you to tag me on Instagram @wilfycamille

Likewise if you you make any changes or have any other (constructive) feedback about the recipe that other readers may find useful please leave a comment below.