Wild Garlic Pasta — a plant-based Italian recipe by BOSH!
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Wild Garlic Pasta

Wild garlic season is one of our favourite times of year, and this pasta is the reason why. There's something genuinely special about cooking with an ingredient that only shows up for a few weeks and this recipe makes the absolute most of it. You get this beautiful, garlicky, creamy sauce from the cashews, a golden pine nut topping with a little kick from Aleppo pepper, and fresh lemon zest running through the whole thing. It's the kind of bowl that feels a bit fancy but comes together in about 25 minutes. Make this while wild garlic is around, seriously, you'll be gutted when the season ends.

Cook: 25 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Blender
  • Cashews soaked in boiling water for at least 1 hour
  • Large pan
  • Small bowl
  • Microplane or zester

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp plant-based butter
  • 40g pine nuts
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 40g garlic - (wild garlic)
  • 100g baby spinach
  • 100g cashews
  • 250g silken tofu
  • 100ml plant-based milk
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp za'atar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 courgettes
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 350g pasta - orecchiette
  • 150g plant-based feta

Method

1

Prepare the ingredients

  • Place the cashews into a bowl and cover with boiling water
  • Leave to one side for at least an hour until needed
2

Make the topping

  • zest the lemon into a small bowl and add the olive oil
  • Heat a large pan over a medium heat and add the oil and melt the butter
  • Add the pine nuts and cook for 3-4 mins until golden
  • Stir through the Aleppo pepper, paprika and salt
  • Transfer to the bowl and wipe out the pan
3

Make the base

  • Juice the lemon
  • Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in the pan and add the wild garlic and lemon juice
  • Cook until wilted then transfer to a blender
  • Drain the cashews and add to the blender with the rest of the sauce ingredients
  • Blend until smooth
  • Slice the courgette into thin slices
  • Roughly chop the capers
  • Heat the olive oil and add the courgette
  • Cook until softened and lightly caramelized
4

Cook the pasta

  • Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
  • Cook the pasta according to packet instructions
  • Once cooked, drain the pasta (saving some of the pasta water to mix through later)
5

Finish the pasta

  • Add the pasta to the pan with the pasta water and capers
  • Add the sauce and stir everything to coat
  • Serve with the crumbled feta and pine nut topping

Tips & Variations

  • Soak ahead: The cashews need at least an hour in boiling water, so plan that in advance. We sometimes just leave them soaking in the morning and they're perfect by dinner time.
  • Wild garlic swap: Can't find wild garlic? A mix of baby spinach and a couple of garlic cloves blended into the sauce gets you surprisingly close. Not quite the same, but still really good.
  • Aleppo pepper sub: If you can't get hold of Aleppo pepper, a pinch of smoked paprika and a tiny pinch of chilli flakes works really well as a stand-in for that gentle heat and colour.

Why This Works

The cashew base is the real secret here. Soaking them in boiling water and blending them down gives you this incredibly silky, creamy sauce without any dairy, and it carries the wild garlic flavour beautifully. The toasted pine nut topping with Aleppo pepper adds crunch and warmth, and that contrast with the soft pasta and creamy sauce is what makes every bite so satisfying.