Vegan Scallops & Spaghetti


Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free

Meal Type
Dinner
Author
hotforfoodblog.com
Serves
2
Preparation Time
30 minutes
Cooking Time
20 minutes

Ingredients

Scallops

  • 4 - 6 king oyster mushrooms
  • 3 tbsp olive oil (or use vegan butter for cooking the scallops)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Scallop Brine

  • 3 C hot water
  • 1/3 C rice wine vinegar (or half and half rice vinegar and white wine vinegar)

Pasta

  • 300g spaghetti of choice
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Sauce

  • 1/4 C finely chopped shallot or small red onion
  • 1 green onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp dried chili peppers
  • 2 - 3 Tbsp kale pesto
  • 1 C dry white wine
  • 1 C pasta water (reserved from cooking noodles)

Instructions

Preparation

  1. Trim the tops and woody bottoms of the king oyster mushrooms leaving the solid part of the stems. Cut the stems into medallions about 1 inch thick. You should be left with approximately 14 medallions. (Save the tops for noodle soup another night)
  2. In a bowl combine 3 cups of hot water with the vinegar(s) and submerge the mushroom scallops in the mixture for 30 minutes at room temperature. Place a small bowl or plate that fits within the main bowl on top to push the mushrooms into the liquid, ensuring they're submerged and not floating.
  3. While the mushrooms are marinating, prepare all the sauce ingredients, saute the onions and garlic in water or a little oil, combine seasonings and use white wine to make a smooth sauce/ paste, set aside.

Cooking

  1. Start boiling pasta water with 1 tsp sea salt. Cook the pasta until al dente and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce.
  2. Add the pasta water to the sauce and bring the sauce to a simmer.
  3. Drain the pasta (do not rinse) and return to its saucepan along with the sauce to finish cooking on a low heat while the mushrooms cook.
  4. Heat a large pan to medium with 1 tbsp olive oil, or vegan butter. Place the mushroom medallions in the pan and brown on one side for 4 to 6 minutes. Depending on how much moisture your scallops absorbed this could take longer. Just before you flip them add 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and ground pepper. They should be golden brown on the first side when flipped. Then brown on the other side for 4 to 6 minutes and season with a pinch of salt and pepper again near the end. Remove the scallops from the pan and prepare to plate.
  5. Toss the cooked spaghetti noodles in the sauce for 1-2 minutes until evenly coated and most of the sauce is absorbed. Transfer the pasta to serving dishes and top with scallops. contemplate a little vegan Parmesan. Serve immediately!

Notes

  • Original recipe involves baking kale into crispy chips to serve over pasta, under scallops, and pomegranate seeds to garnish... well, we had no fresh kale, an over abundance of kale pesto (which is awesome by the way) and pomegranate seeds are, subjective... Greg doesn't like them... anyway, modifying the dish makes it quicker and easier, sure it has less variety in texture, but it is still delicious.