Creamy Cauliflower Puree as Pasta Sauce or As Soup

This is an easy versatile cauliflower puree made right in a Vita Mix blender. I had cauliflower soup at the Kitchen Restaurant recently which triggered this urge to create this concoction. I also saw Fettucine Alfredo prepared in the new show The Good Dish using something similar as sauce.  Voila! These inspirations gave birth to this creamy, delicious, oil free, and nondairy alternative to fat filled recipes using dairy cream or cream cheese. 

I am happy with this puree.  I almost devoured all the pasta dish I made with it in one sitting.  It was especially good with crusty bread and green salad when used over pasta or soup.

Creamy Cauliflower Puree

Adapted from this site

• 5 loosely packed cups fresh cauliflower florets or frozen cauliflower

• 1 tablespoon dry onion flakes (note 1)

• 1 tablespoon dry garlic flakes (note 1)

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

• 1/2 cup raw cashews

• 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk 

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

Microwave the cauliflower for about five minutes. 

Add the cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients in the Vita Mix blender. (note 2)

Blend at highest setting till you see smoke out of blender suggesting it is heated. You can feel the sides of the blender getting hot to the touch.

Pour over cooked pasta. or eat as soup as is or thinned out with little water or broth.

Sprinkle with dry parsley. 

Notes:

1.  I used dry onion and garlic flakes to simplify the steps in the prep by skipping the need of sauteing these aromatics. 

2.  One can use other types of blender then transfer the mixture to a pan and heat the puree in the stove.  One can also just heat the ingredients in a pot and puree the mixture using an immersion blender.