Creamy, cheesy and colourful, this vibrant gluten-free and vegan made with cashew sauce, pasta primavera is a vivid center piece of an easy and delicious dinner.
For green Alfredo sauce:
– 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
– ¼ cup vegetable broth or water
– 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves or other herbs you love lightly packed
For green Alfredo sauce:
– ½ cup nutritional yeast gives the cheese flavour
– ¾-1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste + freshly ground black pepper
– ½ teaspoon onion powder optional
For vegan pasta primavera:
– 2 lbs mushrooms
– 1 bunch asparagus cut into 1-inch segments
– 1 package gluten-free or regular pasta
– 3 TBs pickle juice optional
To prepare sauce, drain and rinse soaked cashews. With the food processor turned on, drop in your garlic cloves and process until chopped. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt gently. Cook asparagus for 5 minutes, until it retains some of its bite. Remove asparagus from water and place into an ice bath immediately.
Add salt, and boil pasta in same pot according to package instructions (5-8 minutes, depending on the type of pasta you’re using). Remove from water and drain.
If baking into a pasta bake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In an oven-safe dish combine pasta, mushrooms, asparagus and sauce. Sprinkle with grated vegan cheese and nutritional yeast.
If serving as a saucy pasta dish:
Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl. Mix with asparagus and mushrooms. Top with sauce. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and fresh oregano