Vegan MOFO - Day 3

Day 3 - Fettuccine Alfredo

I love noodles! There isn't a (vegan) noodle dish on the planet that I won't knock back in a heart's beat - a big bowl of soba with miso, a baked red ziti, and especially vermicelli tossed in a piquant peanut sauce. From wheat to rice to buckwheat, I love them all. When I settled on my MOFO theme, the noodle was the first thing to pop into my noodle!

I had my heart set on some velvety fettuccine weeks prior to MOFO, but took my time getting around to whipping any up. Now that MOFO is here, I can’t think of a better time to solidify the recipe I’ve been tweaking for the last few months. My Fettuccine Alfredo strays slightly from the original Roman pasta dish, and is more analogous to the Alfredo we know and love here in the United States.



Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Bit o’ History: Fettuccine Alfredo is naturally composed of fettuccine pasta, Parmesan cheese and butter, and was named by Italian restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio. It was first served in 1914 at de Lelio’s restaurant, Alfredo, and was prepared as a doppio burro (double butter) – de Lelio added butter both before and after the fettuccine was served. De Lelio eventually altered his recipe to a triplo burro (triple butter) to help his pregnant wife keep food down. De Lelio’s restaurant exploded in popularity over the next 50+ years and was made famous by dining actors, directors, and entrepreneurs. Even with the original Alfredo retiring in 1938, Alfredo’s (under new ownership, but with the same name, menu and traditional recipes) still lives on. There’s actually a location at Rockerfeller Center in NYC and in Epcot at Walt Disney World!

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

My recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo is more a pasta in bianco (pasta in white) and starts with a roux to kick start the ultra-rich, ultra-creamy sauce. I like to combine almost-equal parts soymilk and vegetable broth because I find many soymilk (or almond, hemp, etc.) sauces have a certain overpowering taste that takes away from their use in savory dishes.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Serves 4 Entrees

1 16oz box of Fettuccine noodles

4 tablespoons vegan butter, such as Earth Balance Buttery Spread

4 tablespoons flour, such as all-purpose

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup soymilk

1 ¼ cups vegetable broth

¼ cup plain soy creamer, optional (substitute more broth if omitting)

¼ cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Fresh basil, minced, optional

Set pasta water to boil.

Begin the sauce by melting the butter on medium heat. Once butter has completely melted, add the minced garlic and let cook approximately one minute. Add the flour and whisk constantly for three minutes, until a beautiful golden paste has developed (congratulations, you’ve made a roux!).

Add pasta to boiling water.

Slowly pour in the soymilk, broth, and creamer (if using), whisking continuously until all lumps have dissolved you’re left with just liquid. Add the nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and basil (if using). Continue to whisk frequently over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken, approximately 10 minutes. Keep the heat and whisking going until the desired thickness has been reached. At this point, the sauce is ready to serve.*



velvety vegan Alfredo sauce

Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour most of the sauce over the noodles and stir to combine (you may have a little extra sauce, I did). Serve in a shallow bowl and garnish with more fresh basil. Viola!

*If not serving immediately, turn off the heat and keep the whisk and about ¼ cup of water, broth, or milk near by. The sauce will thicken as it sits. To return the sauce it your preferred consistency, whisk in 1 tablespoon of liquid at a time, until the sauce is creamy without being too thick.