Cooking to Impress – Take 2

21Mar09

My last meal seemed to have been a success.  I have to admit that even I was impressed! ;oP  I will be preparing a nice meal again tonight.  My dinner guest is on a month long vegan diet so for tonight I will prepare a vegan spinach alfredo. I found an awesome recipe online for the alfredo sauce and it seems to have gotten good reviews.  Although I am rather fond of tofu, I don’t want the alfredo to taste like tofu.  This is the recipe if any of you are interested:

12-oz soft silken tofu (such as Mori-nu)
1/3 cup plain soy milk
1/3 cup pine nuts or cashews
1/2 – 1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons melted vegan margarine
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup sliced fresh portabella mushrooms, optional

Directions:

In a food processor, grind the nuts to a paste, drizzling in the olive oil as needed, until it’s as smooth as humanly (or mechanically) possible (don’t fret if it’s a little grainy).

Crumble in the tofu and blend until smooth. Pour in the soy milk & blend until creamy. Add the garlic, salt, lemon juice, nutmeg & black pepper and puree until well-blended.

If you decide to use mushrooms, sauté them in a little olive oil until tender, about 3 minutes, then transfer them to the food processor. Pulse a few times, just enough to chop the mushrooms and blend them into sauce so that all is evenly incorporated.

Pour the alfredo into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until just hot; or you can store it in the fridge in a sealed container until ready to use (use within 2 days of preparation).

Filed under: Random Interests   |  5 Comments
Tags: alfredo, cooking, diet, dinner, healthy, meal, pasta, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian