With so many people having dietary restrictions now, it’s hard to make a dinner that can easily cater to everyone. Due to dairy and gluten intolerances, people have been coming up with alternatives to replace that creamy consistency found in pasta sauces. I’ve seen quite a few recipes out there making pasta sauces from avocado, so that had me thinking of other substitutes. The goal is to still have that creamy texture and tons of flavour, without the actual heavy cream.

A few days ago I needed to make dinner in a pinch when some friends stopped by. I looked in my fridge and saw some hummus, so decided to make a sauce with it. I’ll be honest, it didn’t turn out like I would have wanted. It was too thick and I had to try a few more times before I got the right consistency. Once perfected, people couldn’t even tell it was hummus and that there was no dairy involved.

The bonus of using hummus is that now this dish is packed with fibre and includes some plant protein. Contrary to a traditional Vodka Penne, it calls for heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and butter. If you want this recipe to be even cleaner, you can make your hummus…but I decided to go with store-bought Sun-Dried Tomato flavour. You could also go with any other flavour of hummus if you like; for example, Roasted Red Pepper would also work out well.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4 cup of sun-dried tomato hummus

  • 2 cups of gluten-free pasta (or use regular pasta if you are not looking to go gluten-free)

  • 1/2 cup of pasta water

  • 1 tsp of olive oil

  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced

  • half of one small onion, chopped

  • 1/4 cup of Vodka

  • 1 can of tomato puree (15 ounces)

  • salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook your pasta according to package directions and set aside. In a large skillet (the bigger the better) heat your oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes (or until softened). Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in the vodka and then return to heat, reduce temperature to low. Cook for an additional 2 minutes and add the tomato puree and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir in the hummus, add the pasta to the pan and mix until all is well coated. To get the right consistency, add a tablespoon of the pasta water at a time and mix well in between each. Usually, about 3-4 tablespoons will do the trick.

If you want to make this recipe more cheesy, you can add 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast or add some fresh Parmesan cheese on top (like I did here!).

If you are looking to pair this meal with wine, I suggest a Sauvignon Blanc. Since this wine is high in acid and has beautiful citrus notes, it would be a great contrast to the richness of this dish!

Enjoy!


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