I remember my Great Aunt Rose telling me a story before she passed about a trip to Rome she took with my Great Uncle. Fettuccine Alfredo was named by an Italian restaurateur, Alfredo Di Lelio, at his restaurant Alfredo on the Via della Scrofa in Rome in 1914. My Great Aunt and Uncle were lucky enough to dine there and have Mr. Alfredo Di Lelio serve them his dish personally table side! She said he served all of the Alfredo in the restaurant with large gold engraved fork and spoon that were given to him by Mary Pickford! How cool is that???
Ok, so why the story? Well, I used to love fettuccine alfredo when I was a kid, but authentic kind that was just butter and parmesan cheese. So when I became a vegan I was always thinking of healthy ways of making this dish. Cauliflower was the obvious choice in vegetable for me to experiment with and I think I’ve developed a recipe that you’ll enjoy! It’s super duper creamy and dare I say actually pretty good for you! I’m serious, you will be blown away by how creamy it is! In my picture I’ve served this sauce with Bisogno’s vegan, gluten free, spinach pasta that I found at the farmers market today, but you can use this sauce in so many ways! I loooove it on a baked potato with some broccoli! It’s great in lasagna, potatoes au gratin, etc. Hope you enjoy!
Cauliflower Fettuccine Alfredo
Serves 4
1 large head of cauliflower
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp. vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
Cut off any bottom leaves of the cauliflower and cut out the toughest part of the core. Then break the cauliflower down into florets. Boil them with the vegetable broth uncovered until the cauliflower is very soft and tender. About 15 minutes.
While the cauliflower is cooking, heat a large frying pan and saute the onion and garlic with the Earth Balance and olive oil until soft.
When both are done, using a slotted spoon, remove all the cauliflower from the broth and place in a blender or food processor. Add 1 cup of the cooking broth, all the contents of the frying pan, the nutmeg and salt. Puree on high until very smooth, 3-4 minutes. Add a little more broth at a time if it needs to be thinned. Add pepper to taste.
Serve with fettuccine and serve warm.
OPTIONS: Drizzle the finished fettuccine alfredo with some truffle oil for something really special! Add red chili flakes to kick up the heat on your pasta! Or saute asparagus, mushrooms, squash, tomatoes, broccoli, or any other veggies you like and add on top!
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