Vegan Lemon Florentine Pasta

If you do not own a Vitamix or an equally powerful blender, you must soak the cashews overnight in a bowl covered with water so they become really soft. Drain and rinse them and proceed. Otherwise, you will end up with a gritty sauce. Using the soaked cashews version, I suggest blending the sauce in a food processor, as opposed to a standard non-powerful blender, as I find sauces get smoother and creamier this way (if not using a Vitamix blender).

Begin boiling a large pot of salted water and add the pasta once boiling. Cook according to the package.

While waiting on the pasta water, make the lemon cashew milk. Add the cashews, 1 1/2 cups water, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the blender or if using the soaked cashews, add all to a food processor. Blend until 100% smooth and no bits of nuts remain. It should be very watery, but smooth. Set aside. It will be very watery after blending, but cooking it will cause it to really thicken up and become wonderfully creamy.

To a large, deep pan, add 1/4 cup water over medium heat. Once simmering, add the onion and cook 5-8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and 2 more tablespoons of water as needed to keep the garlic cooking and not burn. Cook for just about a minute.

Add the wine and cook for about 3 minutes until it has reduced by about half.

Add the cashew lemon milk and spinach and reduce to medium heat. Stir continuously until the spinach has wilted and cooked down and the sauce has thickened into a nice, thickened creamy sauce. This will take about 5 minutes. Cook longer if needed for it to thicken. It should be the consistency of an alfredo, no longer watery, but not overly thick. Remove from the heat. Taste and add more salt, if desired.

Serve desired amounts of sauce over pasta. To chiffonade basil, stack several large leaves of basil on top of each other. Roll them up into a tight roll. Use a very sharp knife to slice down the roll into thin strips. Sprinkle this basil all over the finished dish just before serving. Adding some freshly ground black pepper is nice too. For additional flavor and lemon boost, add my Lemon Parmesan Cheese!