Creamy parsnip pasta with leftover bread crumble

The creamiest pasta – without the cream!

Creamy parsnip pasta with leftover bread crumble. Credit: Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 ml nut or oat milk
• 2 parsnips, chopped into small pieces
• ½ brown onion, quartered
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• 200 g leftover cornbread or regular bread (can be as little or as much as you have)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 40 ml extra virgin olive oil
• ½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 1 packet of your favourite pasta

Instructions

1. Fill a saucepan with water, bring to the boil then add a generous pinch of salt.
2. Meanwhile, add nut/oat milk (I usually use oat as I like the thickness and flavour) to a pot with chopped parsnips, onion, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes on low to medium heat, or until the parsnip is soft. Place the ingredients into a blender, or use a stick blender, and blitz until super smooth. The consistency should resemble béchamel.
3. Pulse the yeast flakes, bread, garlic and paprika in a food processor until you have a nice bread crumb consistency.
4. Add oil to a warm pan over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until they start turning in colour. Finely dice the parsley, add to the breadcrumbs with the lemon zest and keep cooking until the bread becomes toasty and crunchy. Set aside to cool – it will become crispier as it cools down.
5. Add the pasta to the pot of boiling salted water. When cooked strain the water from the pasta but be sure to save some liquid. Pour the creamy sauce into a pan, add the cooked pasta and a tablespoon or two of the reserved pasta water and mix around until it is all incorporated.
6. Divide your pasta amongst plates and sprinkle with the crisp breadcrumbs to serve.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.