I try to have a vegan day once a week – a bit like Meat-Free Mondays, but without eggs and dairy too. I generally eat a vegetarian diet, particularly when cooking at home, and I try to source meat as responsibly as possible when I do buy it, but I guess this is me trying to do a bit more for food sustainability. This rigatoni with tomatoes and porcini mushrooms is one of my go-to vegan recipes, not just because it’s so unbelievably easy, but because it’s delicious too!

You need just six ingredients. Six! I often do my vegan day during the week so I need recipes that don’t require a whole new pantry or a long time to prepare. This pasta recipe definitely ticks the boxes.

It’s a good recipe for making ahead and taking the leftovers for lunch too as the porcini mushrooms bring plenty of flavour if you’re eating it cold. You could always reheat it too.

Ingredients

• 1 can chopped tomatoes or passata
• 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic
• Olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• 200g dried rigatoni pasta

Method

1. Rehydrate the porcini mushrooms in a bowl of just-boiled water for 30 minutes.
2. Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions.
3. Chop the garlic and fry in the olive oil over a medium heat until you can smell its aroma. Then add the rehydrated porcini mushrooms and the tomatoes or passata. Let it simmer until the pasta has finished cooking.
4. Mix the pasta into the sauce and voila!

What’s your favourite easy vegan recipe?