Recipe:
Ingredients:
* 400g penne pasta (gluten-free if necessary)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 white onion, finely diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional for heat)
* 800g chopped tomatoes in juice (canned)
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 200g vegan cream cheese
* 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* Fresh basil leaves, for garnishing
Method:
1. Cook the penne pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the minced garlic and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook for another minute until fragrant.
4. Add the canned tomatoes with juice and tomato paste, stirring to combine. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes until it begins to reduce.
5. Blend in the vegan cream cheese and nutritional yeast until the sauce reaches a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Toss the cooked penne into the sauce, ensuring each piece is lovingly coated. Heat through for a couple of minutes.
7. Serve the pasta in deep bowls, garnished with fresh basil leaves for an aromatic touch.
by Whiterabbit2000
1 Comment
There is a better/easier way to get a creamy pasta. You can make it even with just pasta and water. Cook it risottata.
In a pan cook pasta like you would cook a risotto, just put water a little bit at time (or make sure it is not too much, most of it should evaporate).
The final result will be creamy.
After you get the basic you can make any pasta creamy, without cream or cheese.
Still if you want to add them at least get the combination right. For example for pesto (that should not cook at all) if you really want a good combo there is greek yogurt. Greek yogurt just like pesto should not be cooked and the acidity goes really well with pesto freshness.
While with tomato sauce regular cream is not bad at all (but only use it if the tomato sauce is not that great… no reason to ruin a good tomato sauce) because cream can cook a long time without separate unlike cheese.
Cream is really good for porcini mushroom since the cream will extract every bit of flavour. That’s my way of using it.
Not sure what vegan cheese taste like, but I think there is a reason why traditionally cheese is not vegan. Cheese is great, most people that try vegan cheese say it’s not the same thing at all.