Vegan ‘chorizo’ with creamy courgette and sweet potato noodles

I choose to eat vibrantly. The more colour on the plate, the happier I am. If there is anything I have learned over the last ten months; it’s that you eat with your eyes first. This dish is beautiful on the eye, with citrus-coloured noodles topped with a golden cream sauce which is set off perfectly with a deep pink plant-powered ‘chorizo’.

I created and cooked this for my friends last night who are all fans of meat chorizo and they loved it. I hope you love it too.

This serves four people.

Ingredients 

‘Chorizo’

• 120g sweet red pepper
• 120g sun dried tomatoes (rinsed)
• 100g walnuts
• 50g oats
• 0.5 tbsp paprika
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp mild chilli powder
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5g ground garlic

Cream sauce

• 600g squash
• Drizzle of rapeseed or olive oil
• 150 cashews (soaked for in cold water for two hours)
• half cup of nutritional yeast
• 300ml plant milk (i.e. almond, oat, soya)
• 150ml water

Noodles

• 2 standard courgette
• 2 standard sweet potato
• tsp coconut oil (or rapeseed or olive oil)

Equipment

I use a Nutribullet to blend the sauce, a Magimix 3200 food processor to make the chorizo and a spiralizer to make the noodles. If you don’t have a spiralizer you can use pasta or gnocchi.

Method

1. Set your oven to 200 degrees.
2. Peel the squash and cut it into bite-size cubes. Place it in a bowl and drizzle a little rapeseed or olive oil. Top with salt and pepper. Use your hands to move the squash around the bowl to ensure it is well seasoned and covered with a little oil.
3. Spread the squash out evenly on a baking tray and cook for 50 minutes at 200 degrees. My fan oven is a little old – if you have a healthier, happier oven 180 degrees may be more appropriate.
4. De-seed the red pepper, rinse the sun dried tomatoes (if kept in a jar with oil) and pop them in the food processor along with the walnuts, oats and spices. Pulse the mixture until comes together. Although it should be relatively smooth it should still have some texture.
5. Roll the chorizo mix into sausages, place on grease-proof
   paper and pop in the fridge for 40 minutes or so to chill.
6. Once the squash is cooked let it cool on the tray before blending. It should be soft, but hard enough to still hold it’s shape and not mushy.
7. Blend half of the squash, cashew nuts nutritional yeast and 200ml of the plant milk until smooth. Gradually add more of the squash, milk and water. Add salt and pepper to taste. When all blended together this will be quite thick, if you want it to be thinner, add more plant milk or water when you come to heat it later.
8. Peel the sweet potatoes and spiralizer. Wash the skin of the courgette and then spiralize, place in a wok with the coconut oil and gently heat. When you serve the noodles they should still be firm and a little warm – the bonus of eating these relatively raw is that they retain so many more nutrients. 
9. Remove the chorizo from the freezer and slice into rounds. It should be firm but still easy to cut.
10. Warm a frying pan with half a tsp of coconut oil and place the chorizo in. Cook at a medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. When you turn it you should notice that that it has darkened and looks a little grilled.
11. In the meantime pour the cream sauce in to a saucepan and heat, continually stirring at a medium heat to ensure it doesn’t stick or burn.
12. Serve up the noodles and top with the cream and chorizo.

This chorizo is a lot softer than the mean version but the use of paprika and other traditional chorizo spices give it that very familiar smell which wins over everyone who is doubtful that the plant-based version will ever compare. If you like your chorizo hot, add more chilli powder and if you love the smokiness of paprika load it up.

Overall this meal is surprisingly fulfilling and you may be surprised at how comfortably full you feel relatively quickly. If you want to add in even more veggies, try stir-fying the noodles with sliced chestnut mushrooms and peas.

Nourish

The nuts in this meal are well-known for their heart boosting powers, strengthening our bodies against cardiovascular disease as well as cancer. Walnuts are rich in anti-oxidants and omega-3, while cashews are rich in zinc and iron which supports a healthy immune system.

Sweet potatoes are high in nutrients but low on the glycemic index which helps stabilise our blood sugar levels, keeping any cravings and hunger at bay. They also support our bodies to lower bad cholesterol and are also high in anti-oxidants and vitamin E.

🌟

I really hope you enjoy this recipe this Autumn and do let me know what you think. 

Hx