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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fettuccine with Cannellini Beans & Artichoke Heart Alfredo

When I was a little eater who had no idea what a calorie was and where cheese came from, I loved cream sauces. In 4th grade I even wrote a poem that I was very proud of about my favorite food: Fettuccine Alfredo. I wish I still had a copy of this literary masterpiece, or at least remember the good parts. I have a feeling it would be comedy gold now. What I do remember is my teacher making a joke to my mom that I should enjoy it while I could, because lord knows Italian women shouldn't be eating cream sauce after they turn 18 unless they've completely given up on themselves.

To be fair to this teacher who was suppose to be a female role model in my life, it was the 80s, when women all over the US were unfortunately starving themselves to be able to wear white spandex. But let's be honest - those kind of jokes are still around today. Which in my opinion is ridiculous. I mean, I'm vegan now, and I enjoy vegan alfredo sauce all the time completely guilt-free. Is it the healthiest sauce you can pour over some pasta and clean up with some garlic toast? Not really. But as far as 'guilty pleasures' go, it's pretty harmless - especially for those cows.

I didn't add any vegetables to this batch for the photo, but I recommend adding some zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, or carrots to make it more of a Pasta Primavera because vegetables are our delicious friends. Also, this recipe is unbelievably fast and easy. I mean if you can make a smoothie, you can make this sauce.

So I'll break it down like this: this recipe is awesome! Let's make some!





Fettuccine with Cannellini & Artichoke Heart Alfredo Sauce
  • 1 Package Fettuccine (cooked and drained - Fettuccine is one of those pastas that often has eggs in it - so please read your labels to make sure your brand is vegan)
  • 1 Can Cannellini (also called Great Northern) Beans (drained and rinsed) 
  • 1 Can Artichoke Hearts (drained) 
  • 1 Cup Soymilk
  • 1/4 Cup Vegan Sour Cream
  • 1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast 
  • 2 Tablespoons Braggs
  • 2 Tablespoons Kalamata Olive Brine (this is the juice that Kalamata Olives come in)
  • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Margarine
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 3 Cloves Garlic (minced) 
  • 1 Tablespoons Vegan Cream Cheese
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon White Wine
  • Fresh Parsley for garnish
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Salt to taste  

Prepare Paste per instructions on the package.

In your cherished food processor or over-worked blender, toss in all the ingredients except Pasta, Salt, Pepper and Parsley and blend for over a minute. You want to liquify your ingredients - especially the Artichoke Hearts - so stop blending when they are completely mixed into the sauce.

Then pour your sauce into a saucepan and heat on a medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat and add our preferred amount of Salt. We only added one dash but you might prefer more.

When you serve your dish toss a pinch of chopped Fresh Parsley and some Freshly Ground Black Pepper on top and put on some white spandex. I mean - why not? You're pretty.



13 comments:

  1. any suggestions for a substitute for the olive brine?

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  2. You can just use more Braggs. The Olive Brine just adds this flavor that reminds me a tiny bit of fancy Parmesan cheese (I'll admit I haven't had cheese in a long time) but really Braggs can add that too. :)

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  3. That's a yummy way to make alfredo!! I'd never think to use cannelinni beans and artichokes. You are a genius, Annie Shannon! And I'm sure you look lovely in spandex!

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  4. That looks amazing! I love alfredo & I can justify eating it more often if I make it with artichoke & beans!

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  5. That looks so delicious. I wish I kept artichoke hearts on hand, because I've got most everything else. I'll bookmark this one for later!

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  6. The cracked black pepper nakes this dish for me. Yum!

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  7. I used to make this ghetto alfredo sauce when I was a kid out of butter and that Kraft parmesan cheese in the green can. I think that was actually all I put in it. I freaking loved that stuff. This is what the 80s does to kids. haha.

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  8. I loved Alfredo in the 80's too. I'm making the tonight.

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  9. SO delicious-looking. Absolutely drool-worthy!

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  10. holy cow! this was AWESOME. definitely staying in the recipe rolodex.

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  11. made this tonight and it went down EXTREMELY well! the sauce has a very authentic-alfredo taste. i think next time i might try skinning the beans first, for an even smoother consistency.

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  12. This was absolutely amazing! We are going to try it again with some "chicken" strips added this week. Thank you for an awesome and delicious recipe! Plus it was super easy!

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  13. I just made this tonight and it was wonderful! I love that it is more hearty and filling than a typical alfredo but still tastes just as good. Thank you for another amazing recipe!

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