Creamy avocado and rocket pasta
If I ever became vegan for whatever reason, I know that the thing I’d miss most would be dairy. Eggs, I could quite happily live without. Meat, I already do live without. But I don’t often find vegan ways of creating creaminess all that inspiring. Blended tofu, processed nuts, soy-based dairy alternatives… none of these really light my fire. Avocado, on the other hand, totally does it for me. It’s a great vegan way of adding creaminess to a dish. I’m sure you’ve all seen avocado pasta before, but avocado and rocket pasta is far more flavourful – much better than pure creaminess without any real taste.
As you can see from the haphazard way that the spaghetti is dolloped into the bowl, I’m not always the tidiest of people – but somehow I’m a perfectionist simultaneously. Growing up, my bedroom was always an absolute tip – it’s a bit embarrassing really. Just piles of stuff everywhere. Yet at the same time, my CDs and books were all alphabetised, and the clothes in my wardrobe were hung up in categories (actually these last few things are still true…). So although I wiped the edge of the bowl carefully for this picture to ensure there weren’t any stray flecks of green, the pasta itself is just a big mess. I never quite understand what goes on in my brain.
Anyway, get on this one quickly while it’s still summer. I feel like such a British cliché because I seem to always be talking about the weather, but it’s chucking it down with rain today. Despite summer only having officially started a few days ago, it feels like autumn is just around the corner, so these fresh, summery recipes need to be made soon!
(PS. be aware that all of my posts for the next million years are going to include roasted garlic, ever since I wrote that post about how to make roasted garlic. I usually only roast a small amount at a time, but since I wanted a few bulbs roasted for the photo, I now have loads to use up. Sorry! If you don’t have any and don’t want to make any, just use raw garlic, but only use one small clove!)
- 150g pasta
- 1 clove garlic (or 2-3 cloves roasted garlic – see below)
- 50g fresh rocket (arugula)
- 1 avocado
- 2tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1tbsp olive oil (optional)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
- Meanwhile, blitz the garlic and rocket in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the avocado and lemon juice, and blitz again. If the mixture looks too dry, you might like to add a small amount of olive oil to moisten it. Season to taste.
- When the pasta is ready, drain it and add the sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, over a low heat for 5 minutes, until the sauce is heated through.
Click to find out how to make roasted garlic.
I can’t understand what went wrong with mine – or if perhaps I’m just not a fan of avocado/rocket (I’ve never really used either so I couldn’t pick out which one it was that I didn’t like). It was almost unbearably bitter as an aftertaste. Any suggestions on what might have gone wrong? It was hard to swallow it was so bitter.
Oh I’m sorry to hear that! Did you try any of the rocket on its own? It’s probably that which tasted bitter, it’s got quite a strong peppery flavour so it could just be that you’re not a rocket fan (or it could have been a bad batch?). Maybe next time you could try spinach or another milder green :)
The mix of advocado and aragula was brilliant!! I rosted the garlic with some mushrooms and added a few yellow tomatos. Yummy!!
Oooh roasted mushrooms would be SO good with this! Sounds lovely! :)
For anyone who doesn’t have a processor, I made this the lazy way last night.
Dumped the avocado (and fetta, sorry not vegan) in the bowl, lemon juice, pepper, then a big handful of rocket, more lemon, then hot pasta on top and stir it all up. Bit of crunch is nice. Esp when you are a lazy cook like self. i’m going to do again with garlic and pine nuts……
That sounds great! And feta sounds like an amazing addition :)
Hi there, I just made this for dinner with brown rice fettucine as the pasta and it was so delicious. Its such a great recipe for the current season, Spring. Its very bright and flavorful and felt guilt free! Thank you!
Hey,
Many thanks for the recipe. It was amazingly tasty and I added some mushrooms, green onions, basil, oregano and jalapeno. The final thing was just incredible.
L
I came to your blog to read up on SEO tips and I stuck around because your pictures are aaaaamazing!!! I just forwarded my hubs the avocado pasta recipe. WE are a tiny bit obsessed with avocado. Do you have a tutorial on how to take great images, too? I’m adding you to my list of blogs lady jane!!! Next, Im going to check out your stuff about helping me make money from my blog!
Thanks for all your sharing and helpful tips!
Hey Goldi, thanks so much!! :) I haven’t done a tutorial like that myself but if you haven’t yet read the Tasty Food Photography ebook from Pinch of Yum, it’s an absolute must – the only reason my photos improved!! You can see more here: http://goo.gl/csme9g (affiliate link, hope you don’t mind!)
I really liked this recipe! I used spinach instead of arugula (couldn’t find any nearby) but am curious to see what it will taste like when i DO find some. I also used about 3 cloves of garlic instead of 1 but next time I’ll roast the garlic since the garlic is basically raw when you heat it up with the avocado blend…too strong!
Haha yep that’s why I said if you’re using raw garlic just use one small clove!!! It’ll definitely be more flavourful with rocket instead of spinach, it’s got that great peppery flavour! Glad you liked it anyway :)
This looks so Delicious love garlicky pasta and with Avacado in it I have to try this !
I made this last night. Slight variation: I added chopped spinach leaves – topped with freshly grated Parmesan. I think next time I’ll add another garlic clove (I didn’t roast them)… Or let the mixture age a little bit before using it. Quite tasty!
Love this! I just tried it and it was delicious. I actually made a lighter version because I added twice the pasta with the same amount of sauce…minus rocket I used baby greens…and it was still moist and creamy.
Oh this pasta looks so good!
This is my kind of pasta! It looks so beautiful and creamy…I cannot wait to make this! Such a great idea.
I love the look of your photos- do people actually arrange bowls of pasta so the noodles are all going in the same direction? Is that what you mean? (ohmygoodness)
But yes, avocado lends such nice creaminess- I threw it in some black bean dip the other day and loved it! Will have to try this pasta, soon, too since…how can you go wrong with pasta, avo, and roasted garlic? You can’t :)
P.S. Speaking of being British/talking about the weather, have you ever read the book “Watching the English”, by Kate Fox? Highly recommend it- talks about the weather speak and ‘rules’ of English society and culture. So fascinating! My Brit husband gave it to me as a gift when we were dating and wow did it explain a lot, haha.
Haha not necessarily all in the same direction, but I’ve seen people swirling it into neat little bundles – like this http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/10/spaghetti-with-creamy-butternut-leek.html I think it looks beautiful but most of the time I don’t have the patience!
Ooh no I’ve not read that but it sounds like my sort of book, I’ll give it a look :)
Scrumptious dish. This is the kind of pasta I like to cook and eat these summer days!
Love rocket – love avocado – yet have never tried them together…gotta fix this! great recipe idea :-)
I lovee, love avocado with pasta and I think it’s one my favorite after olive oil and basil+garlic…i never tried mixing arugula with it though which I also love as well.
Mouthwatering images, Becca….will have to make this very soon! Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend!
That really is a delicious idea. Love avocado and I see bloggers using them in everything…even desserts. Very inspiring recipe indeed.
Gorgeous! I’ve only just recently discovered avocados if I’m honest. I was putting them in smoothies to thicken them out, and it’s true that it adds a nice bit of thickness! Might have to give this a go…
That’s a really good idea. I use it to make smoothies creamy, but not pasta. This would be great for Graham. of course I would finish mine with veggie parmesan.
ps Ruth over at Makey-Cakey is hosting July’s Pasta Please. The theme is cheeseless pasta, why not link up once she announces it, this would be perfect.
Ooh good idea, I’ll try to keep an eye out for it, thanks :)
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This was great! I made two slight adjustments: I added basil, because something in my brain always associates green pasta with basil pesto, and it wasn’t just right for me until I had that flavor in there. Secondly, as I’m not vegan, I topped it with a wee bit of fontina cheese.
A great dish for everyone, vegans, veggies and omnivores! Even our dog was lurking around, hoping for a helping…and she’s picky about her pasta!
i made a similar pasta. i need to try this one though, delish!
This pasta sounds so simple and perfect! I always love a good excuse to get more avocado into my mouth. Totally apropos for the heat wave we’re having here, too. :)
Bahhh so jealous of your heatwave! :P
I’ve never used avocado in a pasta dish before, sounds and looks delicious!
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Looks delicious! I’ve made avocado pasta before, but never with arugula, too. Definitely gonna give this one a shot. Thanks! Oh, and never apologize for using so much roasted garlic ;)