Monday, September 12, 2011

Dairy-free (but incredibly delicious) Alfredo Pasta

This is an absolute favorite of mine and Jenna and I have made this for many people who could have sworn it had cream in it. We use tofu and rice pasta and so it fits the bill for many allergies and food sensitivities. I would like to thank Noelle and Kris for introducing us to this meal! Here it goes:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Cashews
1 1/3 cup broth
2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 block of extra firm tofu or 2 chicken breasts
450 g of rice pasta (or regular pasta if gluten and wheat are of no concern)
Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves
1/2 cup of fresh Basil, chopped
Salt / Pepper

Directions:

Blend the cashews dry until they are a fine powder (you may have shake the blender a little while you do this to prevent the cashews from sticking to the bottom). Stop the blender and scrape the bottom, then add 1/3 cup of broth and blend again for about 1 minute. Then add the rest of the broth and blend for another minute.
It helps to marinate the tofu before and I usually use italian seasoning, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic for the marinade. When marinating tofu, cut the block of tofu into slabs, wrap them in cloth and place a bit of weight on it (about 5 lbs). This will squeeze some of the water out of the tofu and allow it to absorb the marinade better.
Sauté the tofu (or chicken) in a large pan for 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and the garlic and sauté until the mushrooms and are nearly done. Add the cashew milk from the blender and continue to stir. Brining the cashew sauce to a light boil will thicken the sauce. You can add more broth if need be.
Finally add the chopped basil just before taking it off the stove and serving it with the pasta.

ENJOY!







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