Vegetarian Recipe #7: Cashew Chardonnay Sauce over Fettuccine

I originally saw this recipe in my Vegetarian Times magazine....it was submitted by an amazing restaurant called Ravens, in California, which is fully vegan and grows their own vegetables. I really hope to visit someday! In the recipe below, I added extra veggies and modified the portions, but it's close to the original.

Ingredients:

3 oz. uncooked fettuccine (enough for 2 people)

2 cups baby spinach (chopped)

12 small asparagus spears (smaller spears have more flavor!)

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin spears

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

sauce

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup Chardonnay wine

1 Tbs. nutritional yeast

lemon juice from 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

To make sauce, puree cashews and 1 cup water in food

processor until smooth. Simmer Chardonnay in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until only 1/3 cup of liquid remains in the pan (the water will evaporate). Stir in the cashew puree, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and ground pepper.

To make pasta, cook fettuccine in boiling water.

In the meantime....

To make vegetables, saute asparagus and peppers until almost soft. I prefer my vegetables slightly crunchy. You may want to put the asparagus in the pan first since it takes slightly longer to cook. Add spinach and sun-dried tomatoes at the end, just to warm/wilt them.

Drain the pasta when it is soft (be careful not to overcook). Toss it with the 2/3 of the Cashew Chardonnay sauce, and divide between two plates. Top each plate with asparagus, peppers, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the top.

Enjoy! You likely won't have leftovers. :)

*Note, the red wine pictured is not part of the recipe. It's just a recommended addition for the chef to enjoy while cooking!