Vegan Shell pasta in creamy cashew - basil sauce.

Milk and most milk based items weren't my thing for a few decades now. For example cheese. I am so not a cheese lover! Ha ha! Don't kill me for saying that! So I totally love making these vegan pasta sauces and also enjoy their delightfully rich creamy taste. I wasn't going to cook anything today, as I had quite sufficient amount of leftover fried rice that I was planning to finish tonight. But then then I suddenly had this urge of cooking something with my  creamy cashew sauce just like last week, when I had made a vegge baked dish with a slightly different version of this sauce. Today I wanted something else and quick and so I just experimented on my cashew sauce by adding a handful of fresh basil, sitting on my counter and tempting me for a few days now! The sauce turned out to be a milder n creamier version of basil pesto. Also since its a bit heavy on the apple cider vinegar which gave a zing that made this sauce really zesty. So here's today's recipe.


SERVING SIZE- 2 ADULTS & 1 CHILD.
TOTAL PREP TIME- 45 mins

INGREDIENTS.

PASTA

➡️3 cups of medium sized shell pasta. Boil and keep aside.

VEGETABLES
➡️6-7 Baby bella mushrooms- sliced
➡️2 white carrots thinly sliced (u can also use 4 baby carrots)
➡️ 8-10 pieces of snow peas- chopped
➡️ 3 cups of baby spinach (or chopped spinach)
➡️ 1 Tofurky (you get the readymade tofu sausage in any supermarket) - thinly sliced.
➡️2 pods of garlic- finely chopped.
➡️ 1 tsp red pepper flakes
➡️ 1/4th tsp of sea salt.
➡️ 2 big basil leaves- finely chopped for garnishing.
➡️ 2 tbsp oil for frying
➡️ 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to be mixed at the end..




CASHEW-BASIL SAUCE.
➡️ 2 cups salted or unsalted cashew nuts
➡️ 3 tbsp full nutritional yeast
➡️ 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (any vinegar will do)
➡️ 1/2 tsp chilli flakes or paprika
➡️ 1/2 cup any plant based milk (not coconut)
➡️ 4 garlic pods
➡️ 8-10 big fresh basil leaves.
➡️Salt to taste.
Blend all of it. Use water as and if needed to give it a saucy (slightly runny) consistency. 


PREPARATION

➡️ Heat the oil for frying n turn the heat to medium
➡️ Add the chopped garlic and pepper flakes.
➡️Add the sausage and vegges except spinach, cook until soft, say about 5-7 minutes.
➡️ Add the spinach and then the cashew sauce.
➡️ Keeping the heat on medium add the boiled pasta and stir it gently. Use a quarter cup water to mix the sauce well . Take it off the heat.
➡️Serve it with some chopped basil and some grated cheese (vegan or otherwise) I prefer it without any cheese though.


Signing off for tonight. Cheers🥂

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