Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

Meat free Vivera plant bacon and pasta, in a rich tomato sauce, topped with melted dairy free cheese. This takes just 10 minutes to cook in the air fryer, the cheese on top melts and crisps up on the edges. Serve this with salad, vegetables or slices of garlic bread to scoop up the sauce with. You can use shop bought sauce to cut down on the prep time, or if you’d like to make the sauce I’ll pop the sauce recipe below

Yield; Four servings Cook time; 20 minutes

You’ll need;

1. 300g (this is the dry, uncooked weight) pasta
2. One teaspoon of oil
3. 175g meat free bacon, I used Vivera plant bacon
4. A jar of pasta sauce, or around 500g homemade pasta sauce (see recipe below to make your own)
5. 100g grated dairy free cheese

Method;

• Boil the pasta as per the instructions on the packet, knock a couple of minutes off the cook time, as it will carry on cooking while it bakes
• While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat, cook the bacon for five or six minutes, stirring occasionally
• Heat the pasta sauce until it’s piping hot. I did this for a couple of minutes in the microwave, alternatively heat it up in a saucepan on the hob
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain away the water and add the sauce and bacon into the pan with the pasta. Give everything a good mix to combine, then add the pasta into a dish suitable for the air fryer. I use a seven inch tin which works really well in my 4.3 litre air fryer
• Top the pasta with the grated cheese, then bake at 180°C for ten minutes. Alternatively bake in the oven at 200°C/180°C fan assisted for 25 minutes, or until the cheese melts and begins to go crispy at the edges

Tomato Pasta Sauce

Yield; Roughly 550g of tomato sauce Cook time; 45 minutes

You’ll need;

1. One tablespoon of oil
2. One small brown onion, peeled and chopped
3. Three cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
4. Two tablespoons of tomato puree
5. One and half tins (roughly 600g) plum tomatoes
6. Half a teaspoon of both basil and oregano
7. Salt, sugar and black pepper to taste

Method;

• Heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and give it five minutes to soften
• Then add the garlic and give it a couple of minutes to heat through. Next, add the tomato puree and give that a couple of minutes to cook off
• Add the plum tomatoes, basil and oregano to the saucepan, and season with salt, sugar and black pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low and allow the sauce to cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce starts to get too thick, pop a lid on the saucepan. Finally, blend the sauce until it’s completely smooth