Here's an awesome recipe I came up with a couple weeks ago. Sometimes you just want a really rich, fatty vegan alfredo sauce. I know I do! The very first vegan alfredo sauce I ever made was when I had just went vegan...BIG disappointment. It tasted just like what is was made of: soy milk, flour, salt and pepper. There may have been other ingredients too, but I don't remember exactly. Mostly I'd like to forget the experience. I was a vegan noob and had no idea it would be so icky. This recipe is the opposite. Probably too much fat for some people's liking, and if you're one of those people, you can reduce the amount of Earth Balance to suit your needs.
In my opinion, what makes this sauce good is the variety of nuts/seeds that are used, so you're not thinking "tastes like a ____ based sauce" the whole time you're eating. Enjoy in moderation!
Notes: This can be made gluten-free by using a different thickener instead of the wheat flour and gluten-free pasta such as rice or quinoa pasta.
Update: I did not specify an amount for black pepper, because individual tastes can vary a lot. Personally, I love to cover my food in freshly ground pepper, but I know that not everyone likes it as much as I do. Start slow and add more if you desire.
Spinach Alfredo Sauce
Makes enough sauce for 1/2 pound of pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked an hour to soften
1 cup plain hemp milk (or another nut/seed milk)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos
2 large cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar (great mild flavor, may substitute white wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon tahini
1 tablespoon onion powder
dash of nutmeg
dash of paprika
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/4 cup flour (unbleached or whole wheat...whichever you prefer)
5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess water
freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Blend the raw cashews, hemp milk, nutritional yeast, Bragg's, garlic, vinegar, tahini, onion powder, nutmeg and paprika in a blender on high until smooth. In a medium sauce pan, melt the Earth Balance over medium heat. Once it's melted, whisk in the flour to form a roux. Pour in the hemp milk mixture and whisk constantly. The sauce will gradually thicken. Once you've reached the desired sauce thickness, stir in the spinach and serve with your pasta of choice. Garnish top of each serving of pasta with freshly ground black pepper.
