Parsnip Alfredo

Sometimes you get an idea, you try it out, the planets align, and you just simply nail it first go. There was high fives and golf claps in my little kitchen when this deliciousness came together, along with much oohing and aahing from my fellow taste testers. Sorry if this all sounds a bit up myself, but sometimes you’ve just gotta blow your own trumpet.
So for anyone who complained that they couldn’t do Paleo because there was no pasta or creamy sauces, i just became your BFF.

Method

To make the sauce, drain and rinse the soaked cashews.

Throw them in a high speed blender along with all other sauce ingredients.

Whizz for a minute or so until you have a smooth creamy sauce.

Set aside.

Fry off your bacon in a medium heat pan.

Ad the leeks and continue frying and stirring until they soften (don’t brown them).

Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until they soften.

Add the spinach leaves and stir them through until they wilt.

Lastly, add the spiralised parsnip and stir them gently with the other ingredients. You only want to cook them a few minutes, you want them to soften, but keep their shape and not go mushy.

Turn off the heat and pour in the sauce.

Gently stir it through until everything is coated and the sauce is warm.

Season with pepper and garnish with some fresh parsley.

Serves 2-4

– Don’t skip out on the nutritional yeast, its what takes this sauce from ho hum to shit yeah!!
– Leave out the bacon and you’ve got yourself a kick-arse vegan meal (except how you don’t eat bacon I’ll never know…)

Ingredients

For the alfredo sauce…

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked for several hours or overnight
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Makes 400 ml of sauce.

  • 5 large parsnips, spiralised (about 5-6 cups)
  • 250g bacon, diced
  • 1 leek, sliced thin
  • 250g mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Fresh parsley to garnish