Creamy Pasta - Vegan style

There is a huge section on Pasta in "The Little Big Vegetarian Book" that I follow and there was this one recipe that struck me very unique. It was very heart healthy and vegan in all respects (non dairy). Coming from the specialized Non Dairy creamer industry, I was surprised that I could make this dish with another cream substitute commonly found in any retail super market.

I created my own recipe based on this base recipe to improve on the taste and flavor and voila, created a perfect substitute for creamy white sauce..that too completely Vegan with no milk solids, best for people who follow strict no milk diet. Everyone at work thought it was made with real dairy cream. It was a feather in my cap coming from folks who specialize in developing Non Dairy Creamers. 

Well guess what, Tofu is the magic ingredient.  I have always used it as Paneer or Cheese substitute in Indian and Chinese cooking, but never as a cream in Italian cooking. I recommend this dish to all you folks who love Pasta, especially creamy Pasta... it gives you the premium taste of cream in a more healthier manner.. No Cholesterol!

Creamy Tofu Pasta - Vegan Style
Author: Vidya Sridhar
Reference: Penne with Tofu
The little Big Vegetarian Book - Page 344

150 g of Tofu (1 packet)
1 tbsp Basil flakes
1tsp Italian spices
1 tbsp Red pepper flakes
Black pepper and salt to taste
1/3 cup blanched almonds
6 tbsp olive oil (any oil is fine)
5 cloves of garlic (2 for sauce and 3 for saute)
1 onion finely chopped 
500 g of Pasta (any kind)
1 Bell pepper chopped
2 big tomatoes, chopped

Boil the Pasta with 1 tsp oil and salt and set it aside in strainer. Boil the Tofu for 4 min and blend it with blanched almonds (with skin), basil, oil, garlic until it makes a smooth paste.
In a large pan, saute garlic, onion until golden brown, add tomatoes, bell pepper, spices and salt and let it cook for 5 min. Add the tofu/almond paste into this, mix well and let it cook for another 5 min in low heat with constant mixing.
Once the raw smell of tofu/soy is removed, shut the heat, toss the cooked pasta and serve hot!

The Tofu paste when raw has the raw flavor of soy that not many relish, but what I found is that it looses this flavor once it cooks well with the spicy vegetables. The almond paste adds the body of real cream giving it the premium taste.

Vegans and all Creamy Pasta lovers.. Bon Apetite...

Green Paella - Spanish vegetarian rice dish

Living in the US I used to see an ad for a Spanish restaurant that was called "La Paella" in the television. The pronunciation is "Pazheya" with "L" silent in the word. I knew it was a Spanish word but never thought about finding the meaning, but yesterday when I was cooking this dish, was curious to know.. So, here you go readers, the meaning from Google search is given below.. along with its pronunciation. 

pa·el·la/päˈāyä/

Noun:A Spanish dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc.

Green Paella - Vegetarian version with all kinds of green vegetables.

I went shopping to get all the essential ingredients, especially garlic which we usually don't store at home. Garlic is the key condiment in this dish that gives it its signature taste and flavor.

I also did some improvisations to the recipe to suit my diet (more protein) and unavailability of ingredients near my home. Ultimately, the dish turned out good, in fact my husband who usually gives me an "ok" gave me "Good". 

Recipe Credit: The Little Big Vegetarian Book, McRae Books) - Page 370

Ingredients

500 g Spinach
2 Onions - Sliced
3 Cloves of garlic - Finely chopped (key ingredient - so don't miss it)
6 Tbsp - Extra Virgin Olive oil

2 Tbsp - Pine nuts (couldn't find it - so did not add it in recipe)

1 dried red chile pepper

250 g red tomatoes

1 large green bell pepper

250 g Italian risotto rice (did not find this so used Indian Kolam rice - Vidya's improvisation)

Salt, fresh ground black pepper 

1 tsp sweet paprika (did not find this)

1/2 tsp saffron soaked in hot water for 15 min (did not add this)

700 ml vegetable stock (did not use this to cook rice)

90 g peas

200 spanish piquillo peppers (did not find this) 

Nutrela (soya) chunk- two small hand fulls (Vidya's improvisation)

Cook the Kolam rice in Pressure cooker with less water and pull it out in 2 whistles. 

Wash the spinach and cook it along with Nutrela chunks and peas for 5-7 min until spinach is blanched or lightly cooked. I cut the spinach into medium size strands

Saute onion, garlic followed by bell pepper, tomatoes separately. In the recipe, they ask for us to add the Risotto rice (Italian) at this time and cook it in vegetable stock, along with red chile, pine nuts, paprika and saffron (so that the rice gets its yellow color). 

I however added the cooked white rice to the sauteed vegetables, added salt, pepper to taste, and topped it with cooked spinach, peas and Nutrela chunks. I added some water from the Spinach boil into the rice dish so that the rice doesn't get dry and let it cook for 5 min in low heat. 

We are to garnish with the Spanish pepper on top which I did not have. I however, served it hot with our classic Mango pickle from Andhra (Avakkai) and the combination was excellent.

Since my husband loved it, I plan to try this again, with Risotto and with No improvisations:)

  

Bon A petite!