This luscious vegan fettuccine Alfredo is made with noodles dressed in creamy cashew and roasted garlic sauce, then served up with savory white wine simmered baby portobello mushrooms.
Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but cashews are so freaking amazing. But…there is a but. They’re best when you have a high powered blending device, which I do not. I’ve been using a beat up old food processor for a few years. Okay, for ten years. I did get an upgrade for Christmas, but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. But I think it’s safe to say that most basic blenders and food processors weren’t designed with turning nuts into fake dairy in mind.
It’s not that cashew fake-dairy recipes aren’t awesome. In fact, taste and texture-wise, I couldn’t be happier. I think it’s more that I always see bits of not perfectly smooth cashew when I edit my photos. So fine, the issue is all mine.
I found a work around though — when I add other stuff to my cashews, they tend to blend up all perfect and lovely. Is it because the other stuff somehow assists in breaking down the cashews? Or maybe the other stuff itself blends up nicely, therefore decreasing the ratio of unblended cashew in the mix? I don’t know, but it works!
I first discovered this when I created this vegan fettuccine Alfredo recipe a while back. Tofu, of all things, made it better! I know. I was as surprised as you are. This time around, I got it in my head that roasted garlic might do the trick, and bonus: roasted garlic is delicious!
I couldn’t be happier with how this one turned out. It was rich, creamy, and incredibly flavorful, thanks to the roasted garlic. Since I can’t leave well enough alone, I simmered up some baby portobello mushrooms in white wine and thyme. So good! Feel free to leave well enough alone yourself, and skip the mushrooms. If you do that, it’s pretty much one one of the easiest dinners you could ever possibly make.
Serves 4
This luscious vegan fettuccine Alfredo is made with noodles dressed in creamy cashew and roasted garlic sauce, then served up with savory white wine simmered baby portobello mushrooms.
15 minPrep Time
50 minCook Time
1 hr, 5 Total Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 garlic bulbs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 ounces dried fettuccine pasta
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 ounces baby portobello (cremini) mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Cut the tops off of the garlic bulbs, cutting just low enough to expose all of the cloves. Place each garlic bulb on a sheet of aluminum foil and drizzle the top with a tablespoon of olive oil. Loosely close the foil over each garlic bulb and place it into the oven. Bake until the cloves begin to turn light brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, open the foil,, and allow the garlic to cool for a few minutes.
- While the garlic cools, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain into a colander, return it to the pot and toss with a dash of olive oil.
- Place the cashews, milk, and lemon juice into a blender or food processor. Squeeze each garlic bulb until the roasted garlic spooges out, then add the roasted garlic to the blender. Blend the mixture until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the pitcher or bowl as needed. Season with salt to taste.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. Add the mushrooms in an even layer. Cook about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are browned on the bottoms. Flip and cook 5 minutes more. Add garlic to the skillet and sauté just for a minute, until very fragrant. Add the wine and thyme to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until most of the liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the roasted garlic Alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss to coat. You can add a splash more milk if needed. Divide the pasta onto plates and top with mushrooms. Optionally, sprinkle with some parsley and red pepper flakes. Serve.
Notes
The sauce tends to dry out as it sits, so if you have leftovers you'll probably need to add a bit of milk.
The post Roasted Garlic & Baby Portobello Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo appeared first on Connoisseurus Veg.