Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit: Search results for alfredo

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Thursday, April 02, 2009

White Bean Alfredo Sauce

Ok. So I'm a big fan of alfredo sauce. Actually, I'm a big fan of pasta in general, and alfredo has always been one of my favorite sauces. So I'm always trying out new alfredo sauces. (Click HERE for others.) The VwaV Fettucine Alfreda is one of my favorites still, but with the admission that it doesn't really taste like ALFREDO per se, despite the fact that it's fricking so good.

So when I noticed this white bean alfredo sauce a few weeks ago, I was skeptical (that's ALL the ingredients?!?) and yet interested. I scrounged it up this past weekend, and I've gotta confess: it really tastes surprisingly like alfredo sauce, even with the very minimal amount of ingredients.

And it takes so little time to make that it seems conceivable that it could cause a tear in the space-time continuum just for existing.

The nice part too is you can funk it up whatever way you'd like: add whatever spices and top it with delicious grilled veggies (like red peppers and portabellas, for example).

The ONLYONLYONLY down-side to the recipe is that you have to eat it fast: like most pureed bean-based dishes, once it starts to cool, it coagulates. So if you're trying to be all romantical with your significant other or something so that you can get some long overdue action, you will DEFINITELY get laid as long as you somehow get them to EAT IT QUICKLY (that's what she said).

Oh, and it would behoove you to food process the SHIT out of those beans, because the smooth consistency is key to the recipe's success. Plus you don't want the aforementioned significant other putting their mouth all over your sexy places with beans stuck in their teeth.

Moodkiller if I've ever seen one.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 c. vegan margarine

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. cooked white beans, rinsed and drained

1 to 1-1/2 c. unsweetened soy milk (I used sweetened and it works fine too)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Parsley (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a sautee pan over low heat, melt the margarine. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer the margarine mixture to a blender or food processor, add the white beans and 1 cup of soy milk. Blend until completely smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add the remaining soy milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Pour the sauce back into the pan over low heat, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh herbs, such as parsley, if desired. Cook until the sauce is warm.

Makes enough sauce for like 4 to 6 servings maybe?

(Recipe from Vegcooking Blog)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Fettucine Alfreda

from Vegan with a Vengeance

My apologies for the lack of blogging this week. The week was pretty much consumed by The Day of Reckoning and its aftermath (which entailed gratuitous sleeping and gratuitous boozing).

I *DID* manage to squeeze in some cooking this past weekend though, mostly because cooking does wonders to calm my nerves. There's just something so relaxing in the method--the rhythm of dicing, the quietness of measuring, the gentleness of mixing. I heart it.

One of the things I made was the Fettucine Alfreda from VwaV. I'm not quite sure it tastes anything quite like alfredo sauce. It's got ASSLOADS of nutritional yeast in it, which I know will turn many of you off to the recipe immediately. And it looks kind of like you fed a baby a whole bunch of mustard and they got the runs. BUT! BUT BUT BUT! I thought it was fantastique. It's kind of a grown-up version of some of the mac-n-cheez recipes out there. It *IS* salty though, so I omitted the amount of salt originally called for in the recipe, because I think it may be overkill. I also think you could probably use close to a pound's worth of noodles with this sauce as well. It LOOKS like it makes a really small amount, but it's so potently flavored that a little goes a long way.

I served mine with a mix of fried shrooms on top, and I thought it was delish. My mom snacked on some when she watched my cats the other night, and she heartily concurred.

So nooch-haters, be forewarned. The rest of you--get you to your cookbook and try it out.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb fettucine (or linguine)

2 t. olive oil

1 medium size onion, chopped into big chunks

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 c. water or veg. broth

2 t. yellow mustard

1/2 c. toasted pinenuts

2 t. soy sauce

2 t. chili powder

1 c. nutritional yeast

freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Prepare pasta according to package.

In a skillet over moderate heat, sautee onions in oil for 3 minutes, until just softened. Add garlic, sautee two more minutes. Transfer to blender and blend with all other ingredients. It should be somewhat smooth but still a bit grainy.

Makes four servings.

(Recipe from VwaV, posted on Livejournal.com)

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Fettucine Alfredo on a Portobella Bed

For some reason, I was horribly in the mood for pasta this weekend. No clue why. I used to eat pasta all the time, and then suddenly *poof*--all pasta-cravings gone. But apparently we need a fix now and then, no matter how clean we might be.

So on Friday night, I decided to try the Candle Cafe alfredo sauce. I had my doubts about it, as it's a bizarre concoction of silken tofu, soy sauce, tahini, and a bunch of garlic. And that's it. And that just sounded plain old bizarre. Especially since I'm not too huge a fan of tahini. And yet, the recipe is quite brilliant, and damn tasty, and really doesn't taste like tahini or soy sauce or tofu at all. I was quite impressed.

I shan't post the recipe for it here--it'll just be more incentive for you to buy the damn book (especially since it's a good one)--but I *will* give the recipe to the rest of the meal, and you can just fill in the blank with whatever alfredo sauce you choose.

The contrast between the sweet booziness of the mushroom and the saltiness of the alfredo is quite delightful. And the portobella lends a juicy, almost steak-like quality to the meal--each bite tastes delightfully decadent. So definitely worth checking out.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large portobella caps

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. Yellowtail shiraz wine

1-2 t. rosemary

1 box fettucine noodles

Vegan alfredo sauce of your choosing (I used the Candle Cafe recipe)

One fistful of basil leaves

One dozen cherry/grape tomatoes

1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted

DIRECTIONS

Place vinegar and wine in a large container with the rosemary. Add your portobella caps and allow to marinate for at least a few hours.

Boil your noodles according to the directions on the package.

Whip up your alfredo sauce.

Toss your marinated 'shroom caps into a Foreman grill (or onto a grill-top hubcap on your stove) and grill until tender.

Roll your basil leaves into small cylinders and then cut them into tiny slivers. (There's some sorta frenchy-term for this, but I can't remember what it is. So we'll call it "voulez vous-ing" the basil.) Cut your cherry/grape tomatoes in half.

Place a mushroom cap on a plate. Top with noodles and alfredo. Sprinkle basil, tomatoes, and pine nuts on top to taste.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo

Back when I first went vegan, my very sweet and very animal-loving friend dorklepork bought me the VwaV cookbook and also included photocopies of some of her tried-and-true favorite recipes from various other sources. I had the pleasure of trying out her Big Bread at my Vegan Barbecue this summer, and finally finally finally this past weekend I got around to trying out the vegan alfredo recipe as well. And man alive is it yummy.

I had a bit of trouble hunting down some vegan parmesan (again, we run into that dastardly idiocy that is milk-derived products in non-dairy cheese--*fart*) but I finally managed to track some down at Nature's Bin (which I really wish I would've explored a bit earlier-on in my veganism as it is pretty damn kick-ass).

Also inspired by the plethora of stuffed-tofu recipes I've been seeing pop up on people's food blogs, I decided to attempt a stuffed-tofu recipe of my own on the side. This ended up being not so fantastic as the alfredo recipe, so I'm not gonna post the recipe. But I will tell you what was in it: I sauteed up some spinach, baby 'bellas, garlic, and tomatoes and attempted to stuff two tofu-halves with it. Baking them in the oven was taking too long and they weren't goldening up at all, so I ended up tossing them in the broiler instead, which did work better, but the end result was still a disappointment. It was by no means gross or inedible; it was, simply, boring. Next time, I am going to take a little bit more guidance from other people's stuffed tofu recipes, because there's got to be a better way to cook 'em then the way I did.

Despite the failure on the tofu-front, the alfredo definitely made up for it. I un-low-fattified (yes, that IS a word, thank you very much!) the recipe, and I also tweaked it a bit to give it more flavor, and the end result was delightful. My fella even called me up the next afternoon out of the blue to say that the sauce was fricking awesome (he was randomly chowing down on some leftovers for lunch), and if a sauce is good enough to compel someone to actually call you to tell you how much they like it, it's gotta be a decent sauce.

So despite the ugly, 1970's-ish picture (damnable apartment-lighting!), this alfredo is worth your while.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. silken tofu

3 T. vegan margarine, room temperature or melted (I used Earth Balance)

1/4 cup vegan soy parmesan

2 T. nutritional yeast

Soy milk

3-4 sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated

3-4 cloves of garlic, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Wheat linguine noodles (cooked according to the package)

Thinly-sliced basil

DIRECTIONS:
Toss all your ingredients (minus the noodles, soy milk, and 1 T. of vegan margarine) into a food processor and process. Gradually add soy milk until it's a smooth and creamy consistency. Toss the remaining tablespoon of vegan margarine into a saucepan along with your garlic and heat until fragrant. Then transfer your sauce into the saucepan as well and heat gently, stirring frequently. You may find yourself needing to add more soy milk as it heats, simply because it thickens up crazily. So do so if necessary. (If you have leftovers and reheat them the next day, you will probably need to do the same.) Serve over pasta with some thinly-sliced basil sprinkled on top.

Some of the comments left about the original recipe complained that it tasted too tofu-y, but (despite it being the main ingredient) I didn't taste it at all.

Original recipe: HERE