Vegan Pasta Primavera

This recipe was another Rouxbe assignment. The brief was easy this time: we were asked to make a dish with gluten-free pasta and fresh vegetables. Since it’s spring, I immediately had visions of asparagus and broccoli dancing my head. I put together a pasta primavera with rice noodles, fresh greens, and a few other favorite veggies, and tossed it all together in a light cashew cream sauce. The resulting vegan Pasta Primavera was the ultimate springtime dish.

This vegan Pasta Primavera is the ultimate springtime dish – fresh asparagus, broccoli & cherry tomatoes tossed together in a dairy-free cashew cream sauce.

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Vegan Pasta Primavera

Yields 4 servings

Author Dianne Wenz

Ingredients

For the Sauce

• 1 cup cashews soaked for at least 2 hours, rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon onion granules
• 1 tablespoon garlic granules
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

For the Pasta

• 8 ounces gluten-free noodles
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1 leek cleaned and sliced (white and light green parts only), about half a cup
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 8 ounces crimini or button mushrooms sliced
• 1 bunch broccoli cut into small florets, about 3 cups
• 1 bunch asparagus tough ends trimmed and cut into 1 ½” pieces, about 2 cups
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• ½ cup green peas fresh or frozen and thawed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 1 cup parsley chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare the pasta according to the package. Rinse and set aside until ready to use.
2. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
3. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced leek and a pinch of salt. Stir and cook until the leek begins to brown.
4. Add the mushrooms and another pinch of salt. Stir and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown and release their liquid.
5. Add the broccoli and asparagus, and give everything a big stir. Add the stock and deglaze the pan. Allow to cook for 5 or 10 more minutes, until the liquid is almost all absorbed.
6. Now add the peas and cherry tomatoes. Stir and cook for a minute or two more. Add the sauce and pasta and fold everything together gently. Gently fold in the parsley and cook for a minute or two more, until the dish is heated throughout.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately. Enjoy!