Quick & Easy Pasta Alfredo with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Brussels Sprouts
You can just call it “That Alfredo Pasta,” we know it’s a mouthful.
To say it’s a trying time in the world would be the understatement of the century. With everything going on (read: amidst a global pandemic), it is increasingly easy to feel unmoored — Lost trying to digest information, adrift in the sea of one’s own mind. As most of us adjust to the shifting paradigm (a slow week at home turns into two, and so on), the reality sets in more and more: “This is really happening.”
As we figure out what the future holds, taking it day-by-day, we’re asking ourselves the question over and over... How can we find comfort while being present with the reality we’re facing? For us, it keeps coming back to cooking and music. (Doesn’t it always?) Two things so uniquely human, so inherently “us,” so intrinsically linked to our senses of culture and identity.
From Great Depression-era ballads to booming pop anthems to groovy funk and soul — Songs have always served the same purposes. They get us outside of our own heads, outside of time. They describe our feelings better than any words can, tell us stories and teach us lessons. Putting on the right record can change your whole day. Choosing a good playlist can make working from home a breeze. Tune in to the right radio station and you’ll be dancing your way through doing the dishes. (Speaking of, local DJ John Richards — a vegan business owner himself — has been doing an incredible job with The Morning Show on KEXP here in Seattle during this crisis. Do yourself a favor and check out their archive to listen to past shows, and tune into his show weekdays 6-10am PST at 90.3 in Seattle or streaming online.) For more of what we’re listening to & playlists specifically for Social Distancing - Follow us on Spotify.
Cooking in a time of crisis and tension works similarly to a good song. It occupies your senses, giving you something to focus on and soothing some parts of your mind that might be “on guard” throughout the rest of the day. When you prepare a dish or meal you are working towards a goal, serving a greater purpose by performing countless little magic tricks that culminate in the experience of being nourished. You become an alchemist, turning solitary ingredients into something greater than the sum of their parts. Every meal is an opportunity to provide comfort and peace to yourself, your loved ones, and beyond. And for the cook, that comfort and peace can be found in the act of cooking, too.
It’s wise to limit trips to the grocery store right now, making us extra-conscious of how we use our resources and other people’s labor... But, then, weren’t those things always important? As we find our equilibrium here at Power Plant HQ (read: an apartment in North Seattle currently well-stocked with canned beans and hand soap), we are relying on simple, affordable, and easy comfort foods that maximize pantry staples and hearty produce. Comfort food is essential when the entire world is basically one big billboard with the words BE STRESSED OUT plastered across it. This recipe just-so-happens to be one that we’ve relied on for years because it is easy, quick, nourishing, and combines pantry staples and hearty veggies in decadent harmony!
Brussels sprouts are delicious — Especially when sautéed until they’re all crispy around the edges. They last well in the fridge, too (google says 5-ish days, but look, we cooked some yesterday that were like twice that old and they were perfect). Cashews make an excellent base for a creamy vegan alfredo sauce (this one is super easy, too). Sun-dried tomatoes are a beautiful gift from the heavens that we don’t deserve, but for some reason we get to have here on Earth. Same goes for pasta.
If you’re missing some ingredients, swap ‘em! Check out the tips below! More questions? Email us! Slide into our DMs on Instagram! Text us if you know us like that! Don’t make a trip out to the store just for one meal, that’s part of the point.
Get comfy. Get cozy. There’s never been a better time to crank up the tunes, dance around your kitchen in your house clothes, and make yourself an impossibly delicious bowl of pasta. And smile, because we still have that going for us.
Tips & Info
What’s up with soaking cashews? We almost never do that much prep... We have a high-powered blender (ours is a vitamix) so we can blend unsoaked nuts and seeds easily. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you can soak your cashews (at least a couple hours, up to overnight) first to ensure they blend well. Alternatively: You can just use unsweetened cashew butter for this recipe!
Be careful cutting the brussels sprouts! They’re round. Round stuff likes to roll out-from-under knives. Try cutting them in half first, and then slicing them thinly — Think of it like shredding a tiny cabbage… Because, uh, that’s actually exactly what it is.
Not a Brussels sprout fan? That’s okay! (But, like, what’s your deal?) You can totally swap them for another veggie — Our first choices would be other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli (or broccolini!) and kale. Any hearty greens would totally work here, and mushrooms would be fantastic.
Don’t be afraid to get salty! Your pasta water should be very salty. Like, so salty your lips would pucker if you tried to drink it. “As salty as the Mediterranean sea,” some say. Don’t worry, you’re not eating all that salt — most of it washes down the drain with the pasta water — but salty water seasons your noodles and brings out the nutty, savory qualities of the pasta itself in the final dish. Super-salty water is the reason restaurant pasta is so good.
The leftover sitch: Creamy sauces can be a little weird to reheat. If you’re using the microwave, we recommend adding a couple tablespoons of water to the dish when reheating. Zap it in short intervals, and stir in-between each one. Don’t overheat it!
Sun-dried tomatoes come in a variety of forms. Whole, julienned, oil-packed, dry-packed, etc… We call for oil-packed because 1) there’s nothing better than olive oil and dried tomatoes mingling — the residual oil on the tomatoes will lend extra richness and umami flavor to the final dish — and 2) they’re usually more affordable per ounce compared to dry-packed! But really, use whatever type you like. Don’t have any? If you have fresh or good-quality canned tomatoes, you can oven-dry them… But really, just cook them down with oil and salt until they’re brown and caramelized before you cook the brussels sprouts.
"That Alfredo Pasta"
Power Plant | David Griffin-Luna |March 21, 2020
Time: ~30 minutes | Feeds: 2-3
Equipment:
Ingredients:
Sauce (Blender)
Other
Instructions:
1) Heat 2-3 quarts of water for pasta. While you wait for it to boil, add sauce ingredients to the blender (beginning with liquids) and blend until smooth. Set aside. Once the water is boiling, salt well and add the pasta—cooking al dente according to package instructions.2) Once the pasta hits the water, begin heating a dutch oven (or another heavy-bottomed pot) over medium-high heat. Once heated, add a healthy glug of olive oil followed by the Brussels sprouts and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat and distribute salt, reduce the heat to medium, and cook them undisturbed for 3 minutes. Avoiding over-stirring will yield the best results!
3) After 3 minutes, stir the sprouts and let them cook, undisturbed, for another 2-3 minutes. Around this time, reserve about 1 cup pasta cooking water—you can use this starchy, salty water to thin your sauce later if needed without making it seem “watered down.”
4) Once Brussels have been cooking for 5-7 minutes: Add your sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times. If these get done before the pasta, remove from heat to wait. If they’re taking a while and the pasta is close to done, boost the heat a bit and drain your pasta, setting it aside (don’t let it sit in hot water once it’s done).
5) Reduce heat to medium-low. Drain pasta and add to the dutch oven with the veggies, immediately followed by the sauce. Stir well to avoid the sauce sticking and burning on the bottom of the pot. Cook until sauce is heated and just clinging to noodles, but still glossy. Avoid overheating it. If sauce becomes too dry or clumpy, add pasta water a couple of tablespoons at a time, stirring to incorporate until it’s a glossy, creamy consistency.
6) Serve with some fresh-cracked black pepper. Take a deep breath to prepare yourself emotionally to live your creamy vegan pasta dreams. Enjoy.