Vegan Miniature Mozzarella Ball Pasta Salad
This fully vegan mozzarella ball pasta salad is going to blow your mind.
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- High Speed Blender
Ingredients
For the Mozzarella Balls
- 90 g silken tofu (firm)
- 40 g plant milk (I used oat)
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 20 g lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon tapioca starch
- ¾ teaspoon kappa carrageenan
- 40 g deodorised coconut oil
For the Mozzarella Ball Marinade
- 30 g extra virgin olive oil
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced basil
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1 clove of garlic (crushed with the side of a knife)
For the Pesto Dressing
- 45 g fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped)
- 20 g fresh parsley leaves (roughly chopped)
- 45 g extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 80 g cashews (toasted in a dry frying pan)
- 2 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoon water
For the Pasta Salad
- 350 g vegan pasta (I used spirali)
- 250 g mixed baby tomatoes
- 100 g olives (chopped into ½cm discs)
- Small bunch of fresh basil
Instructions
To Make the Mozzarella Balls
- Half fill a large tub or a deep saucepan with cold water and a handful of ice cubes. Set aside.
- Place all the mozzarella ingredients in the cup of a high speed blender and blitz until very smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan and place over a medium/low heat. Whisking constantly with a metal whisk, raise the temperature of the cheese mixture until it starts to thicken - keep whisking until it’s very stringy and comes away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat.
- While the mixture is hot, use two spoons (or better yet, two melon ballers or two semi-spherical teaspoon measureto pinch a portion of the mixture, forcing it into a ball shape. Lower the two spoons of mixture into the ice water before separating them. The ball of mozzarella should fall out (it may need a little heland will firm up almost immediately. Leave the ball of mozzarella in the cold water and repeat the process until you have no more mixture left.
- While the mozzarella is chilling, prepare the marinade.
To Make the Marinade
- Mix all the ingredients together in a jar, tub or deli pot. Using your hand, carefully remove the mozzarella balls from the water and place in the marinade. Cover with a lid and place in the fridge for minimum 4 hours or up to a week.
To Make the Pesto Dressing
- Place all the ingredients in the cup of a high speed blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside.
To Make the Pasta Salad
- Boil the pasta in salted water and drain once cooked but al dente. Cover with cold water and allow to chill for 5 minutes.
- Toss together all the salad ingredients and dress with the pesto dressing. Top with the mozzarella balls and serve with a good grind of black pepper and a final drizzle of olive oil.