Soak Cashews: Place raw cashews in a medium sized bowl, and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Let the cashews soak for 10 minutes. While the cashews are soaking, chop up the mushrooms and start bringing a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop to cook the pasta.

Blend Carbonara Sauce: Once soaked, place nuts and water into a blender and add almond milk, cover with lid and blend on medium high for 1-2 minutes. Once cashews are smooth, add the garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, lemon zest, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cover with lid and blend until completely smooth and combined, approximately 1 minute. Once the sauce is smooth, set aside for later. 

Cook Pasta: Cook linguine pasta according to package instructions. Once the pasta is cooked, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water for later use before draining. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Heat Oil: Once the pasta is cooking, heat 2 tsp oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick pan.

Cook Mushrooms: When the pan is hot add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. The mushrooms will release a small amount of water while they are cooking. Continue to cook until all that liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Add Vinegar and Soy Sauce: Once mushrooms are cooked add both soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to the pan. Cook for an additional 1 minute, stiring often.

Mix Pasta: When mushrooms are cooked and the pasta is drained, add the ‘carbonara sauce’ to the mushrooms, mix together until fully incorporated. Add your cooked pasta and mix thoroughly, adding the reserved pasta water ¼ cup at a time until you have reached a creamy texture. You will likely add the full 2 cups.

Serve: Fold in chopped parsley if desired and divide evenly into bowls and enjoy!