Penne with Jerusalem artichokes, Red Russian kale and walnuts

Working with The University of Sheffield

Season: SpringWinter

This pasta dish has lovely, subtle, umami flavours to complement the distinctive taste of Jerusalem artichokes. One of the surprise ingredients is the Suma vegan mushroom pate: you can order it from our online shop.

You could use any kind of kale but the Red Russian worked wonderfully. An obvious addition would be a few fresh mushrooms, if you have any to hand. When fresh parsley is back in season on the Regather farm, that would make a pretty garnish and burst of flavour on the plate.

The nutty oil drizzle to finish is quite important: I can recommend pumpkin seed oil (you can get it at Lembas). It has a unique, rich, deep flavour – a little goes a long way. The combined effect of the mushroom pate and the pumpkin seed oil can tame the strongest cravings for parmesan cheese!

We’re big fans of the Suma mushroom pate here at Regather. Doug says it’s great on oatcakes or Vietnamese-style vegan banh mi sandwiches. Clem loves it simply on toast for breakfast or used in sauces. Lisa is trying to conquer her bread+cheese lunch habit and is reaching for the mushroom pate instead – on rice cakes, topped with fresh sauerkraut.

Ingredients

2 portions of penne, fusilli or long macaroni

2 medium Jerusalem artichokes (about 180-200g total)

1 medium red onion, halved then sliced

Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Red wine (just a dash)

2 tbsp (or more to taste) Suma vegan mushroom pate

Walnuts – a generous handful, toasted and broken up roughly

1 tsp lemon zest

150-200g Red Russian kale, any coarse stems removed, then leaves roughly torn up

Salt and black pepper

To finish: pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil or good-quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

Get the pasta on to cook while you start preparing the veg.

Scrub the J/artichokes clean, rinse and pat dry. Halve them lengthways then slice thinly. Steam for 5 mins, until soft but not mushy. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat a big glug of olive oil (2 or 3 tbsp) in a large pan. On a medium-high heat, cook the onion, stirring often until softening, then add the garlic and J/artichokes. Cook, stirring, for a minute or two then add a splash or two of red wine. Cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the mushroom pate, walnuts, lemon zest and kale. As the kale leaves wilt, gently fold them through the mixture so everything is evenly distributed.

Cook for a couple more minutes until everything is hot and the kale is cooked. (Depending on the pan you’re using, it might need a touch more liquid: more olive oil or a splash of hot water or stock.)

Taste and season generously with salt and black pepper. Turn heat right down, give it a good stir and let the flavours meld.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan of veg and mix it thoroughly.

Serve drizzled with your favourite specialty nutty oil, e.g. pumpkin seed oil or walnut oil, or just some very good extra virgin olive oil.