Vegan Alfredo

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to volunteer with a group from my church for the local Habitat for Humanity. I did a lot of hammering and a bit of sawing. It was some great anger management ;).

I had an amazing time, but  I was really exhausted when I got home, and I had been planning to make this vegan alfredo for a while, at least a week. It seemed every day this week I had another excuse to not make it. Not that I didn't want to, I was just lazy. It's a really simple recipe, and I was really pleased with how it ended up. Obviously, it doesn't taste like alfredo made with cream and cheese, but it has a really nice taste, and I can't wait to have leftovers. Luckily there's a lot of them. 

First, the cast of characters:


Ingredients
Pasta, of your choice (I used bow tie pasta)
1/3 heaping cup raw cashews
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
3/4 cup soy milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp non-dairy butter 
2 tsp organic Tamari soy sauce, or to taste
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Tahini (sesame seed paste)
Pinch of nutmeg
Kosher salt, to taste
1/2 tsp Paprika, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Herbs or veggies to add into Alfredo, if desired (I used peas and mushrooms)


My absolute favorite kind of pasta is Farfalle, or bow tie pasta. I'm not sure when that love started, but I do know it was before Matt Smith, although I'm pretty sure he just solidified my love for the shape. 


So while the pasta is cooking, put all the other ingredients in a blender or food processor. 

I know it doesn't look very appetizing here, but it gets better I promise.


Blend it all together until smooth and mix it in with the cooked and drained pasta. I had some dehydrated mushrooms, which I rehydrated in some boiling water and mixed those in. While those were finishing cooking I mixed my frozen peas in with the hot, drained pasta to warm them up a bit. Then I added in the mushrooms and finally the alfredo sauce. Here is the final product:

Again, doesn't taste like the 'normal' alfredo sauce, but the mustard, tamari, and tahini mix together to create an interesting flavor that I really enjoyed. The mushrooms really lacked a lot of taste though, so I probably won't use those again. But the peas were a nice addition I thought. 

Enjoy! 


Original recipe can be found here: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/03/quick-and-easy-vegan-alfredo/