“Creamy” Red Sauce

I’m not a big red sauce person but was really in the mood for something different on my pasta. I knew of a great vegan “cheese” sauce recipe so I was inspired to tweak it and created this “creamy” red sauce. I made it with pantry staples so it was easy and quick to throw together. Plus, the flavor really surprised me. It truly felt like I was eating a dairy-based creamy red sauce and it completely tricked my taste buds.

This would be great over my Pasta with Veggies & Chicken recipe!

You need a high speed/powerful blender, and a couple of specialty ingredients such as nutritional yeast and miso paste, but once you have these items in your pantry you can use them in a number of ways. For example, anytime you want to add a “cheesy” flavor to something without adding diary, nutritional yeast is a great substitute. I sprinkle it over my pasta like parmesan, top popcorn with it (yum!), and add it to sauces to add richness. Miso paste can add a nice salty component to Asian sauces, or you can simply add a spoonful to a cup of hot water for a nutritional broth or soup.

THE WHAT:
1/2 diced red onion
2 cloves garlic (diced)
2 Tablespoons EVOO 
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
 
2 handfuls (appox 1/3-1/2 cup soaked raw cashews)
14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 Tablespoons miso paste (I used red, but any would do)

1. Fill a mug 3/4 full with water and microwave for 1 -1.5 minutes then place raw cashews in hot water and let soak while you prep the blender.
2. Sautée the first four ingredients in a small skillet on low to medium heat until onions are translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic (you can add it at the end if you start out with too high a heat).
3. While sautéing, add the last three ingredients to the blender.
4. Add the sautéed ingredients to the blender.
5. Drain the soaking cashews and add cashews to blender.
6. Blend all ingredients until super creamy and smooth.
7. In my Vitamix I blended it approx. 2 minutes which also warmed the sauce so I didn’t have to transfer it to a pot to heat it.

Sauce will keep in fridge for a week, or it can be frozen and used later.

Serves 4-6

ENJOY!