primavera alfredo pasta

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: 2 medium pots, large skillet, blender

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

One of my all-time favorite pasta dishes is Primavera Alfredo, complete with plenty of vegetables (or fruits - oh, the semantics) and creamy sauce. I have this recipe in my book Everyday Vegan Eats, but I wanted to put an easier twist on it -- if that's possible.

This dish took me 30 minutes to make. The recipe calls for 1 cup of cauliflower, broccoli or another vegetable, so I used fresh peas. If you are using peas (fresh or frozen, partly-thawed), add them when you are adding the sauce. The hot sauce will cook the peas without overcooking them.

The beauty of this sauce recipe is that the blended cashews thicken the sauce as it cooks. There is no added thickeners and it does not need it. The sauce is flavored simply with nutritional yeast, garlic and salt. If you'd like to add some grated vegan parm at the end, by all means do it, although it doesn't need it; I added some for the photo.

If you don't have a high-speed blender, blend the nuts and set the blender aside for 5 minutes to allow the pieces to absorb some of the water. Then blend until smooth. This will blend your nuts smoother, while keeping your blender from melting down.

You can also add some chopped sautéed vegan chicken-style strips, if you happen to have some that needs using up, but, again, that is completely extra.

Creamy, garlicy, cheesy and full of vegetables - I adore this pasta meal.

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Gather your ingredients.
• Start heating the water for the pasta.
• If using a standard blender, blend the nuts and set them aside before blending until smooth.
• Use  a lid to cook the vegetables. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, if desired.

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Primavera Alfredo Pasta

Makes 4 servings 

weekday

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

8 ounces linguine or other pasta

1 large carrot, sliced

1 small summer squash, sliced

1 cup broccoli, cauliflower or other vegetable

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

2 cups water

1 1/4 cups raw cashews

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

1 garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Drain the pasta, return to the pot:

2. Vegetables: Add the carrot, squash, broccoli and pepper to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, covered, and stir as needed, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water, as needed.

3. Sauce: Blend the water, cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic and salt until very smooth. Add the sauce to a medium pot and bring to a simmer to thicken, about 5 minutes.

4. Combine: add the Sauce and Pasta to the Vegetables in the skillet. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

 

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

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vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

baja tacos

Overview

Time: 35 minutes
Dishes: air-fryer or oven, medium bowl, shallow pan 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

Now that you have your Seafood Tofu prepared, you need to put it to some good use (if you haven't gobbled it up, yet, that is) and this Baja Taco is perfect.

Baja Taco is a regional food to San Diego and is typically made with fish and chiles. As suited to a weekday meal, I skipped all the fancy shmancy chiles and opted for chili powder. Fear not, this did not lessen the delicious factor, however, if you are looking for a more authentic version, take a look at my Baja Tacos made with lobster mushrooms and tempeh HERE.

A few pointers about the recipe:

1. Store your Seafood Tofu in the broth (fresh vegetable broth or the sea-vegetable broth, as the recipe indicated) because the tofu needs to be moist before dredging - otherwise the breading won't stick. Simply move the tofu from the broth to the breading.
2. It is vital that you steam your tortillas (especially corn tortillas), else they will break. To steam, just add the warmed tortillas (warmed over a stove top or in the microwave or oven) to a towel and then place in a tortilla warmer or a pot with a lid. The point is to trap the steam coming off the just-heated tortilla. Steam them for a few minutes; it will do wonders.
3. Double up your tortillas, else the taco will disintegrate. I called for 16 tortillas in this recipe, making 8 tacos, for 4 servings. This is the way taco trucks do it and they have it nailed.

Follow the above pointers and you will be golden.

I had these tacos on the table in 30 minutes, which is totally doable as long as you adhere to the order of cooking them. First the slaw, then the tofu, then the sauce and finally the assembly.

The tacos have just enough of a sea flavor without being over powering. The slaw is nice and bright and the chipotle-lime sauce adds a perfect amount of heat. Skip the chipotle if you are not inclined to heat and add 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika instead.

I give you the choice of using yogurt or mayo for the sauce. And, yes, use more yogurt than mayo. Because mayo has a lot of fat you don't need as much for the tacos and because yogurt has little fat, you can (and should) add more to the tacos. Yogurt is also fermented, so it needs less lime juice, whereas mayo has a lot of fat which needs to be balanced with the lime juice. 

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Prepare the slaw first.
• Prepare the tofu, plucking them gently out of the broth.
• Take care with the tofu to avoid breaking them, if you can.
• Make the sauce last.

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Baja Tacos

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

weekday

 

Preheat the air-fryer to 400F.

 

1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage (or slaw mix)

1/2 cup vegan mayo or 3/4 cup plain nondairy yogurt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon agave or maple syrup

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lime juice

6 tablespoons flour

6 tablespoons dry bread crumbs (not panko)

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 recipe Seafood Tofu, drained but not sautéed

Oil spray

1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo, finely minced or just the adobo part

1 teaspoon agave or maple (if using unsweetened yogurt for sauce)

16 corn tortillas

1 avocado, sliced

Pickled jalapenos (optional)

1. Slaw: Combine the cabbage, 1/4 cup mayo (or yogurt), cilantro, 1 tablespoon agave and 1 tablespoon lime juice in a medium bowl. Toss well. Season with salt and black pepper. Set aside.

2. Tofu: Combine the flour and chili powder in a shallow pan. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the Seafood Tofu slabs in half, lengthwise. Dredge the tofu slices in the flour mixture. Spray with oil and air-fry on 400F for 10 to 15 minutes until crisp. Alternatively, pan fry in 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat until golden.   

3. Sauce: Combine 1/4 cup mayo (or 1/2 cup yogurt), chipotle and 1 teaspoon lime juice. Stir well. Season to taste. Add the agave if using yogurt.   

4. Assemble:  Warm the tortillas over the stove top or in a microwave. Add to a towel and a tortilla warmer and allow to steam for 3 minutes. Assemble the tacos by using 2 tortillas per taco (double them up). Add Tofu, avocado, Slaw, Sauce and jalapenos, if using. Serve. 

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based