On Christmas Eve in Italy, known as La Vigilia, it’s tradition to serve seafood as part of the feast. Spaghetti with calamari is a classic dish often gracing tables during this festive time. Nadia Fragnito’s mushroom calamari spaghetti from her cookbook NATALE: Recipes for a Vegan Italian Christmas offers a vegan twist on this tradition, swapping seafood for plant-based ingredients.

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King oyster mushrooms have a similar texture to calamari rings. They’re sliced into rounds, marinated in a mix of lemon juice, zest, and nori for a hint of the sea. Sautéed in olive oil with garlic and chili, the mushrooms soak up all the vibrant flavors, while cherry tomatoes, parsley, and a splash of white wine create a rich and flavorful sauce.

This dish brings all the comforts of a festive Italian meal but stays completely plant-based. Perfect for Christmas Eve or any occasion, it’s proof you can enjoy traditional flavors in a vegan way. Serve it with spaghetti or any pasta of your choice for a crowd-pleasing holiday dish.

Mushroom calamari spaghetti

Try this vegan take on the classic Italian dish of calamari spaghetti. This dish uses king oyster mushrooms in place of seafood.

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Servings

Ingredients

Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 nori sheet cut into small pieces
4 large king oyster mushrooms
Olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
1 small chili finely diced
125 ml white wine
200 g cherry tomatoes halved
Large handful of parsley chopped
250 g dried spaghetti
Salt

Instructions

Prepare the marinade by combining the lemon juice, zest, nori, and 125 ml of water in a bowl.
Slice the mushrooms into rounds, then cut holes out of each, creating calamari rings. Toss the mushrooms in the marinade and marinate for 10-15 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and reserve some of the marinade.
In a large frying pan, add a generous glug of olive oil and the garlic and chili. Warm over low heat, being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the mushrooms, a dash of the marinade, and sauté for a few minutes.
Pour in the wine, increase the heat and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Stir through the tomatoes and parsley. Simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Add a splash of water to prevent it from drying out.
Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve about 200 ml of the pasta water before draining.
Transfer the spaghetti into the mushrooms, stirring through splashes of the reserved pasta water to help coat the sauce. Season with a large pinch or two of salt. Continue to cook until heated through.
To serve, drizzle over olive oil and garnish with extra parsley.

This recipe was reprinted with permission from Nadia Fragnito from The Vegan Italian Kitchen and excerpted from NATALE: Recipes for a Vegan Italian Christmas. You can find her website here and her Instagram here.