Celebs who Love Veg: Evanna Lynch shares her favourite vegan recipe

Strong-minded and kind-hearted, Harry Potter’s Luna Lovegood never backs down from her beliefs. Perhaps that’s why producers chose actress Evanna Lynch to play her character onscreen.

After years of eliminating meat from her diet, Lynch became plant-based in 2015. Since then, she has been outspoken about the benefits of plant-based eating and has inspired newcomers to join her.

We decided to interview her to find out what motivated her to make the switch!

“When I went vegan I did it out of love for animals; I didn’t anticipate veganism loving me back by giving me better health, better friendships and a sense of personal equilibrium I didn’t know was missing – but that’s exactly what it did” she told us.

As an outspoken animal advocate, Lynch has even narrated Animal Equality’s pioneering 360-degree virtual reality project. Called iAnimal, this immersive experience takes viewers behind-the-scenes to witness dairy farm cruelty.

Lynch even partnered with Animal Equality’s Love Veg campaign to share one of her favourite plant-based recipes.

“It’s hard for me to pick a classic ‘summer’ recipe because I spent so many years as a vegetarian who didn’t like vegetables and for the most part couldn’t even recognise them in their natural state” she said.

“I like this recipe because it’s gloriously pasta-laden, while still managing to pump a shocking amount of kale into my system in a really delicious way. And you can eat it cold too and call it a ‘salad.’ It totally counts!”

Ingredients:

• 100g whole wheat pasta
• ½ block (140g) extra firm tofu
• 60g unsalted cashews
• 1 bunch of kale
• 125ml water
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tbsps nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Preparation:

1. Cook the whole wheat pasta in boiling water.
2. Rinse the kale and chop it into tiny bite-sized pieces. Peel the garlic.
3. Blend the unsalted cashews, dried basil, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and water in a high-powered blender or food processor. You can simply omit the oil for an oil-free version.
4. In a bowl, mash the extra firm tofu with a fork. Pour the unsalted cashew seasoning mixture over the extra firm tofu and stir to combine. Depending on the water content of the extra firm tofu, your ‘ricotta’ may require extra liquid. Add olive oil and/or unsweetened plant-based milk for extra flavour and liquid, and salt to taste.
5. Add a little bit of water to a pot, pan or wok with a tight-fitting lid. Bring up to medium heat. Add the kale and cover to cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the ‘ricotta’ mixture to the pan by pouring it over the kale in the pan or wok, then cover. Reduce heat to low and heat until the ‘ricotta’ is warm throughout – this will take between 3-5 minutes.
7. Top the whole wheat pasta with the kale and ‘ricotta’ mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Lynch has inspired countless individuals to adopt a plant-based lifestyle, sparing numerous animals from lives of suffering.

And you know what? With a click of a button, you can do the same: