This recipe was adapted from PPK’s Roasted Butternut Alfredo.
I really didn’t intend to modify the recipe very much, but I didn’t have any type of squash, and didn’t want to make a special trip to the store. Besides, I pretty much had everything else on hand. Other substitutions were mostly just because, with the exception of tamari in place of miso (since I didn’t have any miso either).
It’s entirely vegan as long as you use vegan pasta, and can be gluten free too (also based on the pasta you choose).
This is the first vegan cheesy type pasta sauce that I have made that David actually liked. Normally anything with cashews and nutritional yeast and he turns his nose up at the taste and texture.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound pasta (I used linguine, but really, I think any pasta that you would normally put cheesy sauce on would work well, macaroni in particular)
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours (I skipped the soaking, since I used my Vitamix)
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 2 cups roasted cauliflower (I think it would be better with less cauliflower, maybe 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the rest:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon earth balance or any vegan butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced (I used 1/2 a yellow onion, plus 2 shallots)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced (I think another herb might be better, just not sure what yet)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
For garnish:
- Extra roasted cauliflower
- Pine nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Roast the cauliflower. Coat bite size chunks of cauliflower with olive oil and a dash of lemon juice and salt. Bake at 425 for about 45 minutes, or until lightly browned and tender.
- Make the sauce. Puree all ingredients in the blender — A Vitamix works great for this. Add the cauliflower once it’s roasted.
- Sauté the onions with the olive oil and vegan butter until soft and slightly golden. Add garlic, rosemary and wine, and simmer until wine is absorbed.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Toss pasta, sauce and onion mix, garnish with remaining cauliflower, salt and pepper, pine nuts, and enjoy!