Attila Hildmann, 33, has Turkish roots, was born in Berlin, and raised by German parents. He is an aspiring physicist and a self-taught cook who took a very unusual path to becoming a vegan chef.
INGREDIENTS FOR TWO PEOPLE
- 100g of almond butter
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 150g smoked tofu or tofu
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- grated peel of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- 5 medium size zucchini
METHOD
Whisk the almond butter into one cup (240ml) of water. Wash the parsley and finely chop the leaves. Cut the smoked tofu into small cubes. Peel and finely chop both the onion and the garlic clove. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and fry the tofu for around three minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook for an additional three minutes. Add the almond butter mixture, lemon peel, lemon juice and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the carbonara to come just to a boil and thicken.
Wash the zucchini and make spaghetti using a spiral vegetable cutter. Toss the zucchini spaghetti with olive oil and sea salt. Fold into the hot sauce and heat for one minute.
Serve in deep pasta dishes drizzled with oil and grind fresh black pepper over.
*Courtesy of Attila Hildmann’s 30-day Challenge in Vegan for Fit
HEATHER’S NOTE: Whole food plant based cooks don’t fry in olive oil but this recipe translates just as well if you sauté in a little water. You can also make your own nut butter from whole raw nuts. It is also a really tasty and basic vegan sauce recipe. I leave out the tofu but add shredded baby spinach. You can also add two or three chopped sun dried tomatoes to the mix.