Starting this new vegan diet has been challenging (I'm still eating cheese, mayonaise, and sometimes poultry here and there), but it's so fun to try all these new recipes! THIS ONE is a keeper! I'll admit, this was our first attempt, so it's not perfect, but at least now we know what to do different next time -
and there will be a next time.
Even for it being the first time we made this... we still changed it from the original recipe.
That happens when you don't really like asparagus.
The original Black Pepper Fettuccine with Chardonnay Sauce and Grilled Asparagus,
by Stanford Inn by the Sea was featured in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times.
It sounded super yummy, but we knew right away that we would sub green beans for the asparagus and spaghetti noodles for the fettuccine.
Normally we use fresh green beans in dishes like this, but we have so many frozen green beans right now, that it'd be wasteful not to use them! So, they needed to be steamed a little bit.
This sauce is so good! Here's what we did:
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup Chardonnay wine
1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper (this is not in the original recipe)
- Blend cashews and 1 cup water in food processor until smooth. There will be some solids still that you can strain out, but we decided we liked the texture so we left them.
- Simmer Chardonnay in a small saucepan over medium heat 7-10 minutes, until reduced to about 1/3 cup liquid.
- Stir in cashew mixture, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and pepper. Keep Warm.
[Next time, we won't use the lemon juice and we'll mince some garlic along with the cashews!]
3 oz. uncooked pasta
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 lb. green beans (our addition)
1/4 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
*we used Ronzoni Garden Delight Spaghetti noodles mixed with a bit of Barilla Whole Wheat Spaghetti noodles (which do contain some dairy product, but we got a bunch of it on sale a while back and we're just now finishing up what we had left)
- Cook your pasta according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile bring 1/4 cup water to a simmer in a small skillet (we used the same pot that we steamed our beans in). Add spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until wilted. Keep Warm.
We planned on adding the red bell pepper [on top, like garnish]. Mikey cut it up and roasted it in the oven, but then we totally forgot about it and I ended up having to throw them away this morning. How sad.
Anyway,
- Drain your pasta, then return it to the pot.
- Toss pasta, sauce, green beans, and spinach altogether.
- Top with wilted red bell pepper strips. Enjoy.
P.S. Trying really hard to work on my recipe blogging skills. My friend and I are thinking about starting a food blog. Should be fun!
