Leila’s Lemon and French Mustard Spelt Spaghetti & Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Leila Buffery, iEG recipe contributor

What the hell do I need? (Serves 2)

• 250g Spelt Spaghetti (ordinary is fine to!)
• 1 Red Onion
• ½ a Courgette (zucchini)
• 1 Garlic Clove (depending on if there’s a snog on the cards later…’kiss’ for our U.S. readers)
• 30g Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (about 1/3 of a cup)
• ½ a TSP Chilli Flakes
• 2 large Chestnut Mushrooms (3-4 small)
• 4-5 spears of Asparagus
• ¼ of a head of Broccoli
• A handful of Spring Greens, Kale or Spinach

For the Sauce?

• 1 Garlic clove
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 TSP grainy French Mustard
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• Juice of ½ a Lemon

LET’S GO!

1. First thing, toast those pesky pumpkin seeds. If you’re anything like me (a moron), you’ll burn them if you’re distracted by anything else. Just toss them in a dry pan (this means no oil!) until they start to pop and split open. I usually put them on a plate to cool and get them the hell out of the kitchen so I don’t eat them all.
2. Now, make the sauce.  If you find it’s too thick you can spoon in a bit of the starchy pasta water just before you stir it in to loosen it a bit but this can be done last thing.
3. In a blender or NutriBullet, add 1 clove of garlic, the mustard, oil and lemon juice and blitz until smooth. Dip your finger in and give that babe a little taste to see what it needs. This is when I add salt and pepper, and if it needs it, the other half of the lemon juice. Be playful with it, if you love mustard, add more, if you love lemon or garlic, add more of them.
4. With the sauce is out of the way, the rest shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.
5. Fill a big pan with water (the spaghetti needs room to cook evenly!) add a tiny splash of oil (this will stop it from sticking) and a big pinch of salt and bring to a boil. When it’s bubbling, add the spaghetti.
6. Chop up all the veg however you like and chuck it in a big pan or wok and sprinkle in chilli flakes and gently fry with a splash of oil on low heat. This way, the veg and the pasta should be ready at the same time. It’ll take about 5-8 minutes.
7. When the pasta is ready, drain (remembering to save a tiny bit of the water if you want to loosen the sauce) and transfer into the hot wok with all the veg, pour in the sauce and mix well.
8. When the sauce has heated through (this shouldn’t take long) plate up and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds all over. I added a bit of lemon zest too because it looks real profesh and is bitter like my soul (JOKES).

THAT’S IT! Enjoy xxx

Leila Buffery, otherwise known as WhatLeilaEats, is a Brighton, UK chef/mischievous prankster who started her vegan journey with an ambition to inspire others to lead a cruelty-free lifestyle. Food to make your soul and tummy glow. Check out more of Leila’s vegan cooking on whatleilaeats.tumblr.com, and amazing food porn on her Instagram.