April 7, 2017

Vegan Lemon Pasta with Poppy Seeds

This vegan lemon pasta dish is the perfect combination between bright and savory! Linguine noodles are lightly coated in a sauce made from oyster mushrooms, garlic and shallots, vegetable stock, and a good squeeze of lemon, and topped with mild, nutty poppy seeds.

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This was my first ever post and recipe on Very Vegan Val. Three years after I posted this, I went back in 2020 and revisited the recipe. I changed the recipe itself to make it more flavorful, took new photos on the camera I had acquired (instead on the single, blurry iPhone picture), and rewrote the entire post from the short, rambling entry I had originally. While I clearly had a lot to learn about blogging (and probably still do), I love this recipe as my first one, and I love that three years later I’m enjoying my time with Very Vegan Val even more than I was originally. Hope you all like this 2020 glow up of my original Poppy Seed Lemon Pasta

It All Started with a Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin…

Three years ago doesn’t sound like a long time, but it is. Think back. There I was- 25, working in an office as a research scientist, not at all passionate about my job, and stuck in a cubical all day. I was pretty miserable. My life wasn’t bad, but I just couldn’t get over feeling like I was wasting most of my working hours doing something I didn’t care about, and didn’t feel important. Who knew a lemon poppy seed muffin would be the spark of inspiration I needed. After a long day working, I was craving one of those sweet treats but decided that muffins for dinner probably wasn’t the greatest plan. So I took the lemon and the poppy seed, and turned it into a more acceptable dinner option. Better yet, about 20 minutes after I started dinner was on the table. The perfect meal to spark my exhausted brain into action- maybe vegan food was what I cared about. Perhaps creative and conscientious cuisine was what I wanted to create.

Looking for Lemons? Try one of these Lemony Recipes!

Peckish for Pasta? Try one of these Pasta Recipes!

Making Vegan Lemon Pasta with Poppy Seeds

We kept this dish simple with just two components- the pasta and the sauce. The pasta is literally as easy as boiling water- just make pasta how you normally do (or how the box tells you to), and you’ve got it covered. The sauce isn’t too hard either. Start by chopping your mushrooms, garlic, and shallot. You want a rough mince on all of it, so there are no big chunks in the sauce. Then you’ll lightly sauté the minced mushrooms and alliums before deglazing the pan with a little white wine. Stir in a little flour next- this will thicken the sauce- before adding the lemon to your vegan lemon pasta, along with some vegetable broth. All of this will get poured over your cooked pasta, along with some poppy seeds. If you’re looking to add a little flair, you can top with some zested lemon, or garnish with fresh parsley or a few capers!

Vegan Lemon Pasta with Poppy Seeds

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 1 lb. pasta

Vegan Lemon Pasta with Poppy Seeds

Ingredients

1 lb. pasta (I used linguine, but other noodles should work just fine)
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
One large shallot
3 oz oyster mushrooms
2 tbsp. white wine
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup vegetable stock
1 medium-sized lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Instructions

Mince the garlic, shallot and oyster mushrooms. Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet and add the garlic, shallot and mushrooms. Cook on a medium heat for around 3 minutes, allowing the flavors to blend into the oil but not allowing the vegetable to get any color.
Put the pasta water on to boil and continue cooking the sauce. Keep an eye on the water and when it boils make the pasta as directed by the box.
Raise the heat in the pan a little, and add the white wine, letting it cook for another 2 minutes or so. Next add the dried thyme and flour to the pan stir it in, keeping the flour/mushroom mixture moving for 2-3 minutes so it doesn’t burn.
Add the water and the juice from the lemon into the pan and stir occasionally while it thickens. Add salt and pepper to your liking and continue to whisk. The sauce will start to thicken a little as it heats.
When the pasta has cooked completely drain the water and put the cooked pasta back in the pot. Add the cooked sauce and the poppy-seeds, stirring until the sauce and poppy-seeds are mixed evenly. Garnish with the zest of your lemon, if you like.

https://veryveganval.com/2017/04/07/savory-lemon-poppy-seed-pasta/

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