Thanksgiving Pasta – VeganMoFo Day 24

Happy thanksgiving to all the Americans out there! I’m not American, so I had to think a little when it came to finding a thanksgiving inspired meal for today’s VeganMoFo prompt.

It seems that many of the ingredients used in American thanksgiving meals are similar to what we Brits use in Christmas dinners. With a few exceptions like sweet potatoes (and marshmallows?), and nuts like pecans.

I decided to go with what I know – brussels sprouts and cranberries – and add in some American elements – sweet potatoes and pecans. I’m afraid I wasn’t quite brave enough to put marshmallows in my meal.

Rather than doing a big roast, I made pasta! It may not be a traditional thanksgiving meal, but then as a Brit I am not a traditional thanksgiving celebrator. It tasted really good!

The meal itself is pretty simple – just roast the veg, toast the pecans, and cook the pasta. Then stir together the vegetables and pasta, and top with the toasted pecans. So much easier than a full roast dinner!

I also topped my pasta with some of the Sainsbury’s vegan Wensleydale & Cranberries, feeling that this was an appropriate usage of a cheese I wasn’t really sure what to do with. It worked well – so if you have any cheese like this, give it a go.

Thanksgiving Pasta with Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Cranberries and Pecans

• Servings: 4
• Print

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes, cubed
• 250g brussels sprouts, halved
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 30g cranberries
• 250g dried pasta
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 60g pecans, chopped
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F
1. Toss the sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts in the salt and pepper and olive oil, and place on a baking tray (or two if needed).
2. Place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, add the cranberries, stir, and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
5. Next, in a frying pan, melt the vegan butter, and add the chopped pecans.
6. Fry until the pecans are fragrant and crisp – 5-10 minutes.
7. Once the pasta and vegetables are done, drain the pasta and return to the saucepan.
8. Stir through the roasted vegetables until well mixed.
9. Serve topped with the toasted pecans!