Plant-based, oil-free cauliflower Alfredo topped with fresh tomatoes and parsley served with lightly charred broccoli and leeks 💚
I misplaced my recipe card for Alfredo sauce recently, but I had already purchased fresh cauliflower for it. Then I made this. Then I found the recipe card 😅 c'est la vie ! I also didn't have any flat pasta options, so I picked spaghetti. Yum.
I have so many thoughts about Alfredo sauce. For the typical version, talk about the granddaddy of hyperpalatable foods: dairy, salt, fat, trans fat, it's got it all! There was a long period of my life where fettuccine Alfredo was my go-to pasta dish wherever I went that sold it. With bread sticks and extra Alfredo sauce on the side for dunking. That's after the soup or salad starter! Ah, the times have changed..
Sometime during the 'covid years' we got takeout from the Olive Garden, and I got this classic dish. By the time we got home, the oil had already started separating and sweating from the Alfredo sauce. It was greasy, and it didn't sit well. I kept trying to eat the leftovers chilled like I like to do, and to this day, I remember in vivid detail the layer of emulsified cream/cheese/grease that it left on the roof of my mouth. I couldn't just push it off with my tongue « shudder ». It turned into an 'aha' moment for me. I simultaneously wanted to eat some more but was completely turned off the food I thought I liked. I think that was the last time I had regular fettuccine Alfredo.
I just looked at the menu and nutrition guide for @olivegarden. There's added fat in their marinara, in their broccoli, and even in their plain pastas. A plate of the fettuccine Alfredo, just one plate, no sides or starters or anything, contains the fat calories equivalent to half a cup of butter. 😬
Well, I'm going to keep enjoying my homemade Alfredos ad libitum and the excess energy I have when eating these versus the typical American version!
#plantbased #oilfree