Instant Pot Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

I attended a vegan potluck at Temple David in Monroeville PA last night and I brought  this delicious crowd pleaser. This was inspired by the one prepared on the stove top by the adorable vegan  chef and YouTuber, Brittany Jaroudi.  This was one of the dishes she featured during the cooking demo she did at our Vegan Pittsburgh East Pumpkin Recipes Demonstration session last Saturday at the Murrysville Library. She has also featured a video of her recipe at her YouTube channel the Jaroudi Family.

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The stove top approach is a one pot recipe that entailed mixing the pasta to the simmering sauce with some stirring for fifteen minutes. During the demo I wondered aloud if the recipe could be done in the Instant Pot. It was mentioned that some who have tried cooking pasta in this cooking device got mushy consistency.

I decided to experiment and come up with an Instant Pot version. The results:  UPDATE:  See this blog post for a better way to cook pasta in the Instant Pot.

1. I obtained pasta that had the consistency of those cooked the conventional way. Not mushy at all. The sauce coated the pasta and the overall dish was not dripping with sauce.

2. Since I did not saute the onion and garlic in any oil at start of process to make the recipe oil free, the lack of oil might have contributed to a bit of the pasta burning at the bottom of the pot. The digital display showed the word burn in the Instant Pot warning me about this occurring which I just  ignored.

3. As I said only a small bit got stuck at bottom of pot while the rest had excellent texture. Despite this I prefer the Instant Pot to standing in front of the stove stirring intermittently for fifteen minutes. I love the texture and taste of the dish. The pot is currently soaking and I still have to scrub the bottom of the pot now. Tsk, tsk. I wonder...

4.  The alternative is to use some oil and saute the onion and garlic as an added step or just add oil.  Another option is to cook the pasta in the broth, release the pressure, then add the sauce to the cooked pasta and mix using the residual heat of the pot or tbe saute mode. See this site for this approach.

Overall my nonvegan husband liked the one pot recipe except for the nutmeg taste. People at the potluck liked the texture and taste of this version.

Instant Pot Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

Inspired by this stove top version and this site for detailed Instant Pot instructions for pasta with sauce.  UPDATE :  See this blog post for better way to cook pasta in the Instant Pot.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz uncooked pasta (I used macaroni)
• 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 large white or red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1\4 tsp nutmeg
• 1\4 tsp cinnamon
• 1\2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp miso paste

Add all the ingredients except the lemon juice and miso paste (note 1) in the Instant Pot and mix. Cook at manual mode using low pressure for six minutes. (note 2) . See UPDATE At the end of cooking, quick release the Instant Pot to release pressure note( 3). Add the lemon juice and miso paste to the cooked pasta mixture and mix.

Notes:

1. Miso paste is added after cooking to preserve its probiotic effect.

2. Since I did not saute the onion and garlic in oil, a little bit of the pasta burned at the bottom and the Instant Pot displayed the word burn in its digital display while cooking which I ignored. I just left the burned part at the end of cooking and scoop the rest.

3. Do not leave the pasta in the pot. The residual heat will overcook it.