I got a massive Hamilton Beach food processor for Christmas (thanks mom!!!) and I am so thrilled! I can’t wait to see what recipes I come up with in the new year, my game is about to be STEPPED up. The first thing I wanted to make with it was vegan ricotta, as I knew it was easy and I already had all the items needed on hand. I took it a step further and mixed in some tomato sauce and other vegetables.
Now you may be wondering, vegan ricotta? How the heck? It’s so easy to make if you have a blender or food processor and really only requires seven ingredients, most being items you probably already have. Now the more important question, is it actually good?To be completely honest, it is completely passable as ricotta made with cow’s milk and I’m amazed. Let’s get to it.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
(for ricotta starter sauce)
- 1/2 block of extra firm tofu
- 1 cup of soaked cashews
- Juice of one small lemon
- 1 tbsp of minced garlic
- 3-4 tbsp of water
- 1-2 tsp of salt
- pinch of pepper
(for the remainder of the recipe if you choose to expand the sauce like I did)
- 1/2 jar of tomato basil marinara
- 3 cups of spinach
- 1/2 cup of mushrooms (optional)
- pinch of smoked paprika
- pinch of nutritional yeast
- more salt for taste (optional)
- 12-14 oz of pasta of your choice
THE STEPS
- Before you intend to make this recipe, soak cashews for 4 hours or more to ensure extra softness. That will help with the creaminess of the ricotta sauce.
- Begin by chopping up tofu into small blocks, add into a food processor.
- Toss in cashews, garlic, s+p, lemon juice and 3 tbsp of water into processor as well.
- Begin to puree the mixture for two-ish minutes.
- Add in another tbsp of water if the mixture isn’t looking so wet.
- Continue to blend mixture for another two minutes or until fully smooth.
- Begin pasta water, and diced up mushrooms and chop spinach.
- Add spinach, mushrooms with nutritional yeast and paprika to an oiled pan and let fully cook over medium heat.
- Add in 1/2 jar of tomato sauce in with the vegetables, and adding in the ricotta also. Stir slowly on low heat until pasta is finished.
- Drain pasta, mix in with sauce and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, feel free to share on Instagram by tagging me @savoryservingswithsav or #savoryservingswithsav
Have a question about this recipe? Head on over to my contact page and fill out the form with the title of the recipe in the message section. Thank you!
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SAVORY SERVINGS WITH SAV 