Pasta with Vegan Cream Sauce

Heather Donaldson
Chef
Madcheese.com

Want a delicious, elegant vegan pasta dish? Hearts of Palm and fresh thyme sing in this
delightfully creamy sauce that comes together in minutes.

Hearts of palm get a quick purée in a blender with fresh thyme, garlic, lemon juice and a bit of olive oil.
Adding in some of the water used to cook the pasta makes the sauce glossy and thick. You can add any
vegetables you like, either boiled with the pasta or quickly steamed or sautéed. It’s delicious on its own…
but if you can, add the walnut topping. The salty, cheesy flavor really enhances the sauce and rounds out
the dish. 
yield: 4 servings prep time: 10 minutes cook time: 15 minutes total time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients
 3 cups dried Farfalle or other pasta of choice
 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
 2 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
Cream Sauce
 1 can Hearts of Palm, drained (reserve 1/3 cup of the liquid from the can), roughly
chopped
 1/3 cup of the water used to boil the pasta
 2 Tablespoons olive oil
 1 teaspoon lemon juice
 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped; plus extra thyme leaves for garnish
 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
 pinch cayenne
 freshly ground black pepper
Walnut Topping
 1/2 cup raw walnuts 
 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
 1/4-1 teaspoon sea salt (depending on strength of salt and personal preference)

Instructions
1. Combine the walnut topping ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until
you have a crumb-like consistency. Start with 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, then taste the
mixture and increase the salt to your liking. I use fine Himalayan sea salt, which tends to
be saltier. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl.
2. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
3. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. During the last couple minutes
of cooking, add the spinach to the pot. Do not drain the pasta and spinach using a
colander, instead use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer them to a large bowl.
4. While the pasta boils, place the sauce ingredients, including the 1/3 cup of liquid from the
Hearts of Palm can, in the blender (don't blend just yet) and chop the tomato.
5. Once the pasta is done, transfer 1/3 cup of the cooking water to the blender with the other
sauce ingredients. Puree until smooth.
6. Add the chopped tomato to the large bowl with the pasta and spinach. Pour about 3/4 of
the sauce over the pasta and toss to combine.
7. Divide between 4 plates, or keep it all in one big serving dish. Drizzle the remaining
sauce evenly over the pasta, sprinkle with the walnut topping and fresh thyme leaves
(optional). Pass the extra walnut topping at the table.
Potato & Sauerkraut Pierogies
Meredith Pangrace
Home Chef
Cleveland, OH

Pierogies were in regular rotation for my grandmother’s Sunday dinners, but she rarely made her own. She said it wasn’t
worth the work and Mrs. T’s were just as good. She would buy them frozen to sauté with onions and bacon, applesauce and sour
cream on the side. While I appreciate knowing what to make from scratch and what to buy, Mrs. T’s aren’t vegan. It’s pretty hard
to find any prepared pierogies that are. But the good news is you can make a great pierogi dough on your own, and if you fill
them with a premade ingredient (like sauerkraut, or leftover mashed potatoes) it’s not as time-consuming as you might think.
Make a double batch and freeze them. This recipe calls for half potato-filled and half sauerkraut-filled. I like the surprise of not
knowing what I’m going to get when I have several on my plate. You could also mix the sauerkraut into the potatoes and have
them all be the same. Once you master the dough and assemblage, get creative with the fillings—caramelized onions, roasted
mushrooms, or butternut squash.”

Makes about 24 pierogies

Ingredients
Dough:
3 cups flour + flour for dusting work surface
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

Filling:
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons plant milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 cups sauerkraut, drained
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons oil

Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Make a well in the center and pour in the butter and stir.
Slowly add the water and mix. As the dough starts to form, use your hands to knead the dough for about 5
minutes until it’s nice and smooth. Cover and let rest while you make the filling.
In a medium pot on the stove, boil the potatoes until tender.
Drain the potatoes and put into a large bowl. Add the salt, spices, milk, and nutritional yeast. Mash, taste for
seasoning, adjust, and set aside.
Dust your work surface with flour.
Divide your dough into balls, about the size of a ping-pong ball. You’ll get about 2 dozen balls.
Roll out each ball into about a 3-inch circle. Put a spoonful of the potato mixture into the center of half of
the circles and fold dough over. Press the edges down with a fork. (You could also try rolling all the dough out flat,
and using a glass to cut out the round shapes, if you find that to be quicker.)
Put a spoonful of sauerkraut into the center of the remaining balls and fold dough over. Press the edges
down with a fork.
In a large pot, boil the pierogies in salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain. Be gentle so they do not break.
Put the ones you’re not going to eat immediately into freezer bags.
Brown the onion in olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pierogies gently and let them brown
on one side, then carefully flip to brown the other side.
Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with applesauce and vegan sour cream.