Mushroom Milano

You know what is great? Pasta. It may not be the answer to everything, but it is usually one of my suggestions and if it isn't the answer, it helps anyway. When we talk about 'comfort foods' we usually reference dishes that we had growing up as a child, that take us back to that feeling of warmth and safety. Mushroom Milano, for me, is a veganised adaptation of a delicious dish that a close family friend introduced me to in my mid teens. I like food, I haven't always been as big of a fan as I am these days, but tasting her milano for the first time was eye opening. It was the first time that I had eaten something in the comfort of home that tasted like fine dining. Not to say that the food I had at home wasn't good, it was great and I enjoyed it very much...but the intensity of garlic, sun dried tomatoes and cream with pasta just blew me away and now it is one of my go to meals for celebrating, having friends over, when I am feeling sad or just because its a day of the week that ends with a 'y' (eurgh that saying). Trust me, with minimal effort mushroom milano is a winner of a dish.

Ingredients
50g sun dried tomatoes (I use these Merchant Gourmet ones because they aren't in oil)
2 cloves of garlic
250 ml of vegetable stock
250 ml of non-dairy cream alternative
300g of mushrooms (any that take your fancy)
Pasta for 2 people - spaghetti/tagliatelle/linguine works best but all pasta is good (I am not judging you, have as much pasta as you want)
Fresh chopped basil
Black Pepper to taste

Chop your tomatoes and put them in a large frying pan with the crushed garlic and the stock. Let the tomatoes soak in the stock and garlic for 10 minutes before putting them on a medium/low simmer for another 10 minutes. When the stock has started to bubble, add in some of the non-dairy cream alternative and be sure to stir the mix thoroughly. It is best to add in a little at a time so you can taste the sauce as you go, if you prefer the taste to be more subtle you can add in more of the cream alternative and if you like your sauce stronger (like me) don't use too much. Let the sauce cook, stir it regularly (make sure it doesn't all stick to the pan) and add in a little more cream to lighten the sauce. If you find your sauce isn't thickening up, you can always mix a tbs of cornflour with a tbs of water and then stir it into the sauce - that should thicken your sauce up within a few minutes. Sweat the chopped mushrooms in some oil/water/non-dairy butter (whatever you prefer) in a separate pan, when cooked add them, along with the chopped fresh basil to the sauce. Follow the packet directions to cook your pasta and serve into 2 bowls. Add the sauce on top of the pasta and grind over some black pepper. Here's to easy recipes and finding comfort in mushroom milano...enjoy!