Dairy-Free Vodka Sauce with Cashew Cream
I’ve mentioned my pale Scottish skin before, but I’m not all Scottish… My love for cooking stems from my Italian roots. In fact, my Italian side of the family made a cookbook with all of my relatives and ancestors’ best recipes!
My all-time favorite dish to make was my grandmother’s pink vodka sauce with penne. But I haven’t made this dish in awhile because I try to stay away from dairy and this recipe calls for heavy cream.
The other day I decided to try out my own dairy-free vodka sauce with homemade cashew cream and I have to say tasted pretty damn good!
Check out this video to see how I make it.
RECIPE
Ingredients
*Vodka Sauce*
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 oz prosciutto or pancetta, finely chopped, optional
1/2 cup vodka
2 cups marinara sauce (see below)
1/2 cup cashew cream (see below)
4-5 leaves of fresh basil
*Marinara Sauce*
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1-2 28-oz cans of crushed plum tomatoes
Pinch of salt
Fresh basil
*Cashew Cream*
1 cup raw cashews
Pinch of salt
Water
DIRECTIONS
1. For cashew cream, soak 1 cup of cashews overnight (or for at least 1 hour) in a bowl of water. Drain water, then add cashews to a blender with 1 cup of fresh water and a pinch of salt. Blend until creamy and store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.
2. For marinara sauce, sauce onions in olive oil until soft, add crushed tomatoes and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and let it cook for ~30 minutes. Finish with fresh basil.
3. Now for the vodka sauce…saute onion and prosciutto in olive oil until onions are soft and prosciutto is crisped up.
4. Add vodka and cook for about 5 minutes until the vodka is all cooked off.
5. Add two cups of marinara sauce, stir to heat through.
6. Add 1/2 cup of your cashew cream and stir until combined.
7. Top with chopped fresh basil and serve over penne pasta. I love the Tinkyada brand of brown rice pasta for a gluten free option!
What do you think? Will you try it? Leave a comment below and let me know!
