Norwitz Notions

A rich alfredo sauce you’ll swear has eggs or dairy…but it doesn’t…

Sauce Ingredients:

1 lb tofu (silken (I like Nasoya) is best but even firm is okay–it must be completely bland tasting)
1 cup raw cashews (unsalted–I store them in the freezer and use them without defrosting)
1/2-2/3 cup lemon juice (fresh or in bottle)
Fresh basil leaves (optional–use any amount from 2 leaves to 1 cup, depending on the taste and color you are looking for)
1-3 garlic cloves (to taste–don’t use powder)
Salt to taste (I find it needs at least a little)
Water (use as much as you need to get the right consistency; if you use firm tofu, you will need more water)

Blend all ingredients (you need a good blender or food processor) until very smooth. The sauce should be ever so slightly more watery than you want the finished product to be. This is a matter of taste, but try for the consistency of dairy alfredo sauce. Put the sauce into a pot. Heat on low heat until warm enough to serve. Do not cook.

Serve over noodles of your choice–A good lowcarb choice is Nutrition Kitchen’s organic soy angelhair pasta. For non-lowcarbers (who eat gluten), a good choice is fresh fettucini pasta (warning: supermarket versions contain eggs) but regular spaghetti, among others, works well too. I usually serve it with sauteed veggies as below. You can also eat it just with the veggies, or use it cold as a spread.

Veggie ingredients:

Slices of veggies of your choice–I recommend carrots, broccoli, radishes, string beans, spinach, etc (not all at once, vary color and texture). I do not recommend tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, onions (well, maybe), ginger, but you can do whatever you want.
Olive oil (or canola or anything bland)
Pine nuts (optional but very good)
A little white wine cooked in can be good if you’re in the mood for the flavor it gives Saute veggies in oil until tender. Add pine nuts. Serve with pasta and sauce.

See? Easy. The hardest part is cleaning the blender. Made with veggies, this recipe should serve 2 hungry people with some leftovers. If you add salad, bread, dessert, etc, you might be able to feed four average eaters. The whole thing (cooking 3 things at the same time) should take about 30-45 minutes to make (if you’re an experienced cook–add 15-30 minutes if you’re not).

An earlier version of this recipe was posted to rec.food.veg February 11, 1991
and posted to my lowcarb website February 28, 1999

Other listings: OmPlace Altwire recipe of the week (11/4/2003)