The deliciousness of this dish is truly overwhelming. And it’s also another testament to the wonder of Pinterest and to not completely dismissing non-vegan recipes when I stumble across them.
Minor holidays at the office (aka Good Friday), generally mean a quiet atmosphere, few phone calls and ZERO desire to get any work done. So what’s a girl to do when she’s bored out of her skull and has only got the Internet to keep her entertained?
Pinterest…duh.
I browsed boards all day long and was actually pretty thankful for the boredom. I found loads of great recipes and spent a decent amount of time checking out non-vegan pins, just for the hell of it. And since I am a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason, I felt like the sole purpose of this lackluster day was to bring me to this unreal, but not dairy free, recipe for cauliflower alfredo. There’s actually only a few minute ingredients that make it un-vegan, so they were easy to swap out.
I am seriously so in love with this dish. I’m willing to bet almost anyone would be fooled by the pureed cauliflower because it’s creamy, luscious consistency so closely resembles that of a fatty, artery clogging alfredo sauce. This one is a MUST try!
1 lb whole wheat linguine, cooked
1 head cauliflower, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups chopped carrots
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/4 cup coconut milk
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 cayenne pepper, minced
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp nutritional yeast, divided
2 tsp sea salt, divided
2 tsp paprika, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
- Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a large saucepan
- Add cauliflower and boil for 10-15 minutes or until very tender
- Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, cook cayenne pepper in 2 tbsp oil for 1 minute over medium heat
- Add peas and carrots, cover, and let cook for 8-10 more minutes
- Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes
- Strain the cauliflower, reserving the boiled broth in another bowl
- Put half of cauliflower into a blender with 1 cup of reserved veggie broth, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp black pepper and blend until smooth and creamy
- Slowly add in 1 tbsp oil and then pour into a bowl
- Repeat process with remaining cauliflower, 1 more cup broth and remaining half of seasonings
- Pour all of the cauliflower sauce and coconut milk into pan with peas and carrots and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Pour sauce over linguine and serve
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