Nothing like a nice big pot of pasta to feed a crowd. Simple and quick, this dish uses an entire pound of mushrooms; YUM. I used jarred sundried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil but dry sundried tomatoes can be used; just pop them in with the pasta during the last minute of cooking. No nutritional yeast? Skip it. No rules, just yum.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb pasta of choice
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups vegetable broth(chicken flavored)
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb crimini/mini bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
4-6 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Vegan parmesan, grated
Fresh parsley, chopped(optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Place cashews in a blender. Heat vegetable broth to boil, then pour over cashews and set aside. Drain oil from sundried tomatoes, reserve oil, then chop tomatoes.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain, set aside. (*note if using dried sundried tomatoes, add them to pasta while during last minute of cooking).
3. While pasta is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add to blender with cashews.
4. Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt to blender then blend until creamy. Note* it will be watery. Set aside.
5. Return the skillet to stove over medium-high heat then add reserved oil from sundried tomatoes. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until softened and slightly browned, about 6-7 minutes. Add sundried tomatoes to skillet and continue to cook for 1 minute.
6. Add spinach, chili pepper flakes and sauce from blender to skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook until simmering, approximately 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vegan parmesan cheese until melted, approximately 1 minute.
7. Stir in pasta and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water. Cook until heated through. *add remaining pasta water if desired. Garnish with parsley and serve with additional vegan parmesan if desired.
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