Friday, June 26, 2009

creamy cashew tomato sauce

when i set out to make pasta for dinner, i often have the southern vs. northern italy debate with myself. my great grandfather was from garda in northern italy, a region known for creamy white sauces. my great grandmother was from naples in the south, which favours hearty red tomato sauces. i love the flavours of both cuisines, but what i love most is combining the best of both worlds to create a nice creamy red. add some cashews to the mix, and you've got some crazy italian goodness!

  • 8 oz. penne pasta
  • 1 head broccoli, chopped
  • 1 ¼ cups raw cashews, soaked
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 fresh tomatoes
  • 2 basil leaves
  • 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 small can tomato paste (3 oz.)
  • 1 teaspoon bragg's liquid aminos
  • 1 tablespoon soy milk powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
soak raw cashews at least 4 hours, and then blend them up very fine in a magic bullet or food processor. set them aside. cook pasta according to directions. while pasta is cooking, steam the broccoli florets. in the food processor, blend up the two tomatoes and basil leaves.

in a medium saucepan, add olive oil and saute the garlic until it starts to brown. on medium-low heat, add the tomatoes and rest of sauce ingredients. simmer for 10 minutes, adding in additional water if the sauce is too thick. add in the broccoli florets and continue simmering for 5 minutes more.

remove from heat and serve over pasta. this recipe makes two small servings, so double as necessary.

19 comments:

Eddie G said...

Ooh--cashew sauces are my favorites :D

iRaw said...

OoOoOo yeah! I love raw cashew sauces - looks fantastic!

veggievixen said...

glad you were able to combine your heritage in one dish! this sounds amazing. i still need to try out some sauces and creams with cashews.

Jen Treehugger said...

Mmmm YUMMY! One of my favourite combo's too.

allularpunk said...

oh, i love this! creamy red sauces are the best.

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

yum delicious. i love the combo of cashews and tomato sauce.

jessy said...

creamy and oh-so awesome! totally going to have to make your cashew tomato sauce, miss v.! oh my goodness, it sounds wonderful and looks ever-so deeeeelicious! mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Alyssa said...

this looks really really good! i've never had nuts in a sauce before, but cashews are one of my favorites, so i am assuming this is delicious!

Adam said...

I'm glad you ended the border fight and just went with a combo, you're a good compromiser buddy :)

I've never had cashews like that before... this is my 'piqued interest" face :)

Amy said...

Yum! I love creamy and cashews certainly achieve that! This looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

ooohhhh yum! I love creamy reds! The best of both worlds!

Aly said...

This looks fabulous! Will be making very soon. Thank you!

aTxVegn said...

Yum! I love creamy tomato sauce. Your recipe looks delish!

Mrs. Mandy said...

Amazing. Cannot wait to make this for lactose intolerant husband! xoxo

Mihl said...

That looks and sounds really good. Cashews and tomatoes go so well together. Much better than a sauce made with cream, imo.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of a creamy cashe tomato sauce! Perfect with pasta, can't wait to try it!

Jen said...

this looks really good and sounds like a vegan take on palermo sauce-(a marriage of red and white sauces, a common practice in sicily, where my husband's family is from ;))

Usha said...

I have never added cashew to pasta sauce...it looks so creamy and inviting !

Lauren said...

I looooove cashew sauce! I am going to have to try this out! YUM!