Carbs are my comfort food, and there’s no mistaking it, some days you just want a big bowl of pasta with a creamy sauce. But its a weeknight, so you want it to feel decadent but to be relatively healthy too, and well, I’m still me, so vegetables were going to have to be involved here.
So in response to that urge I revisited Pasta Alfredo with the thought of putting my own stamp onto it. Done right, with a cauliflower and cashew base, the sauce is wonderfully smooth and creamy. However, I like a little bit more depth to my meals – it needed more than your standard pasta and sauce combo. If you’re a regular follower of my Instagram page you’ll know I have a slight obsession with roasted tomatoes and these made the ideal counterpoint to this dish. Seasoned before roasting with dried herbs, garlic, and chili these come out of the oven bursting with flavour. These little umami bombs lift the dish into something else along with a little curve ball of balsamic vinegar.
You’ve now got an almost sinfully creamy sauce, thanks to the addition of the cashews, enough flavour and depth from the toppings to make your mouth water and yet I think there’s 3 of your 5 a day squeezed in here (the cauliflower, peas, and tomatoes). Not bad for a quick weekday pasta craving.
- Serves: 4, Generously
Ingredients
- 12 Large Vine ripened tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Granules
- 2 tsp Oregano
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
- 2 tsp Rosemary
- 1 Large Cauliflower
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 3 Large cloves of Garlic
- 90g Cashews
- 750ml Vegetable Stock
- 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 350g Frozen Peas
- Balsamic Vinegar, to taste (optional)
- Fresh Parsley, to taste (optional)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Past of your choice, I like spaghetti or tagliatelle
Directions
Preheat your oven to 200°C (190°C Fan) and lets start by looking at the tomatoes. Halve them, put them on a lined baking tray cut side up and season well with salt and pepper. Mix together your dried herbs, garlic granules and chili flakes and spread this mix evenly over your tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and place in your oven and roast for about 60 minutes or until they take on a good colour.
While they’re cooking its time to pull together the main part of the dish, the cauliflower alfredo sauce. Preheat your instant pot in the saute function and while its warming you can prepare the rest of your vegetables. To prep the cauliflower, discard the leaves*, break up the florets, halve the stem and cut into even chunks. I want to be quite clear here – don’t throw the stem away, it’s perfectly edible, you’ve paid for that and its going to be used and eaten as part of the recipe – as such you may want to clean or trim off the very end if you’re feeling fancy. Roughly chop your garlic and add this along with the the oil into your warmed instant pot.
Saute until the garlic becomes fragrant and add the cauliflower, cashews, and stock. Stir well, turn off the saute function, seal, and cook on high for 5 minutes. As there’s a lot of liquid here, you’ll want to use a 10 minute natural release when the cooking is complete.
Now this next bit is where you may want to be careful, everything wants to be transferred to a blender and pureed until completely smooth. Whether you prefer to use an immersion blender or a stand blender – you’re dealing with very hot liquids so please be careful. When the sauce is smooth, transfer back to the instant pot and set to keep warm (if needed), gently stir in the peas, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. When your pasta is just ready, stir through the sauce, taste and season as needed – the sauce and pasta are ready when the peas are just cooked and still taste fresh.
When your tomatoes are ready, chop them very roughly. Serve your pasta with a potion of the chopped tomatoes on top, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Not your traditional spaghetti alfredo but oh so tasty!
Notes
* Cauliflower leaves are perfectly edible too so don’t just throw them away! While I wouldn’t recomend putting them into your stock pot (like most brassicas) they roast up a dream, add interest to salads, or why not throw them into your next kale or cabbage recipe?
Allergy Notes; I used GF pasta and keep an eye on your stock – I like to use my own or use Marigold Vegan Bouillon when I don’t have any in. I’d suggest checking your shop bought stock powders as gluten sources like wheat are often used as thickeners. I’m afraid this one can’t be nut free!
