Sunday, August 23, 2009

Vegan triplet pasta feast



This weekend was the celebration of Best Friends Day 8. To ring it in right, one of my best friends came to town and as we always do when she visits me, i made a huge dinner for her and all our friends. It was hot, and at one point i was using all burners, the oven, a fan and a food processor at once-- and blew a fuse! a first in my kitchen- and a slight badge of honor. Thank goodness for my pizzalicious sister and her friend for coming to my rescue as impromptu sous chefs- and for letting me bark orders at them as i cooked myself in the heat of my kitchen, fried my blender motor, blew fuses, and ran out of counter and sink space so fast i contemplated using the floor.

I love nothing more than to cook for a crowd. I love to cook for my friends and family, and it is one of the rare instances when i am social and friendly- completely natural and in my element. it lately seems like its pretty often that dinner for four turns into dinner for 8 in a few short texts.

I'm flattered by the fact that people think a seat at my table is a good bet- and it seems like I've never got a shortage of neighbors the minute that garlic hits the pan, and that familiar smell wafts through the house and neighborhood. This is normally true--except for last night, when i had so much leftover food i used just about every tupperwear container i had. I still had about 16 people in attendance- but it was clear that i had over cooked- even by my standards, and coming from my background, i was embarrassed by this showing of yummy vegan excess. But in the end- my friends and my friends friends' were seemingly happy and well fed, and no one ever complains about eating too little right?

My friend whom we were celebrating is vegan, and as is our tradition, whenever she visits i cook for her and our friends. I knew i wanted to do pasta, and i thought it'd be great to figure out how to veganize something really comforting, and cheesy. I had been quizzing all my chef friends, and foodie buds alike on how to best make a vegan alfredo sauce. i kid you not, i probably got 9 separate answers on how to make it best-- and was so overwhelmed in the grocery store, that i scratched the whole thing, and decided to play it safe and make something i know, and let the grocery store produce section inspire me. Sorry i forgot to take pictures- there was much eating and drinking involved.

Pasta Triplets
Butternut squash "Cheddar" shells
Penne with Popeye Pesto
Bow Tie Pasta with Dueling Vegetable Marinara


Butternut Squash "Cheddar" Shells
The butternut squash cavatappi, featured earlier this year on this blog was a perfect candidate for veganizing a dish, and it is something i love to make and eat. the orange of the roasted squash really looks like cheddar cheese, and the sweet and garlicky sauce is a real crowd pleaser.

I substituted 4 ounces of tofutti vegan sour cream, and 4 ounces of vegan cream cheese for the goat cheese listed in the original recipe. The roasted butternut squash sauce was quite a bit thicker than usual for some reason ( i guess the vegan cream cheese and sour cream really seized the mixture) i added about 4 times the normal amount of pasta water to the mixture than usual to thin it out, and used traditional medium sized shells - since i had a coupon.

Penne with Popeye Pesto
This deliciously green dish, usually served with a hard Italian cheese is equally good when the lemon and almond mixture steps up to the plate. Pesto to me screams summer-- when you just have to use all that basil before it turns. The sweet yet full flavor of the almond butter against the licoricey and grassy flavor of the spinach and basil is bright and light with just a hint of sharpness from the garlic and lemon. Perfect hot or cold, this dish would be an excellent side, and the pesto is great on boiled potatoes, as a sandwich spread when mixed with a little veganaise, grilled with tofu, in eggs, or on just about anything. I always make a little extra, and freeze some of my larger batches so I'll have a little summer-- even in the winter time.

3 cups baby spinach (packed)
1 cup basil, cleaned (packed)
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook pasta in salted boiling water until aldente.
in a dry pan over medium heat, toast the nuts (separately). once the almonds have toasted lightly, add them to a food process er with a tablespoon of oil and a little salt. Process the almonds until they are smooth like peanut butter. Remove the almond butter from processor and set aside. In the same processor add the basil, spinach, garlic, lemon juice, zest and toasted walnut pieces, pulse while drizzling in oil slowly, until the mixture is thick. Stir in almond butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

add the pesto to hot pasta, and serve immediately. if the mixture is too thick, you can add pasta water, or a little extra oil, but i like to add a little vegan margarine for some extra flavor and some shine.

Bow Tie Pasta with Dueling Vegetable Marinara
The two kinds of mushrooms provide beefy texture and an excellent counterpart to the tender and slightly crisp white and green asparagus. This dish makes for such a hearty bowl of pasta, you won't miss the cheese, and you won't be able to decide which asparagus or mushroom wins.

1 bunch thick green asparagus- peeled, and re bundled
1 bunch white asparagus- peeled, and re bundled
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
6 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned
6 ounces oyster mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped roughly
1 large jar of premium quality marinara sauce- i used trader joe's tomato basil pasta sauce
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook pasta in salted boiling water until aldente. reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
In a pot of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus for about 4 minutes. shock the asparagus in and ice bath, and slice each bunch into thirds.
Slice shallots thinly, mince garlic. In a large pan over medium high heat, drizzle enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. heat the olive oil, and saute the shallots and garlic. once they have turned golden brown, set aside. Slice mushrooms finely, and in the same pan you cooked the shallots and garlic in, add more oil to coat the bottom of the pan and bring to medium high heat. saute the mushrooms and keep stirring. don't salt the mushrooms yet, or they'll sweat. when the mushrooms are golden brown, add the sherry and deglaze the pan. once the alcohol has cooked off, add the roasted red peppers, sauteed mushrooms, blanched asparagus, and marinara sauce. stir well and add salt and pepper to taste. bring the sauce to a simmer, then add to hot bow tie pasta and toss well. add some of the reserved cooking liquid if needed

2 comments:

  1. OH yum! If you need any more friends to come over and feed, just let me know :)

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  2. thanks for reading alisa!! do you have any suggestions for the best vegan alfredo sauce?

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