This recipe is from Meatless Monday. I was a little skeptical about a vegan "Cream" sauce, but was pleasantly surprised. My kids and Dave all seemed to enjoy it too, and really, there is nothing terribly unusual about it. Ground nuts give it the creamy texture.
My notes:
--I didn't have raw cashews. After much deliberating amongst me, myself, and I whether I should try roasted cashews or another raw nut I went with raw almonds. I thought it turned out to be a good choice.
--Next time I will grind the nuts up a bit before I add the other ingredients. Almonds bouncing around in tomato sauce made a big mess.
--I have never heard of chunky tomato sauce so I used crushed tomatoes.
--2 tsp. of red pepper flakes seemed like a lot for my kids based on previous red pepper experiences so I reduced it to 1/2 tsp. Next time I'll use at least 1 1/2 tsp.
Serves 4
For the sauce:
- 3/4 cup low sodium chunky tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup cashews, raw
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- splash of white wine
To complete the dish:
- 1 pack gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions
- 1 cup whole cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup zucchini, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- basil, chopped for garnish
To make the sauce:
Combine tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, cashews, red pepper and white wine in a food professor and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water to get to the desired consistency.
To complete the dish:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, zucchini and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes more, or until garlic is golden.
Pour the sauce from the food professor into the sauté pan and mix thoroughly. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan for 3-5 minutes, or until gnocchi is heated. Remove from heat and garnish with chopped basil leaves.
