Pasta with Pesto Cream (Vegan)

The abundance of sweet summer basil and tomatoes inspired this recipe.  The rich and creamy texture makes it irresistible.  This recipe is gluten-free friendly and can easily be adapted by simply preparing it with gluten-free pasta.
Makes 2 1/2 cups; Serves 3-4

Pesto

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves (this is a lot of basil, so try and find a large clamshell package of basil leaves in the produce section and you basically end up using all of it)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp coarse salt

Cream:

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 tsp white rice flour (I used regular flour)
• 1/3 cup soy milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk because it was what I had on hand, & couldn’t taste the vanilla flavor at all)
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Pasta

• 1 (16-ounce) package pasta, spaghetti style (I like brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta)
• Asparagus, ends trimmed and cut in to 1-inch pieces
• 1 basket red cherry tomatoes, halved

To make the pesto: Combine all ingredients listed for pesto in a food processor. Pulse the mixture, scraping down the sides of the food processor with a spatula, until smooth.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions and start on the sauce.  *Note - When pasta is just about done, add the asparagus to blanch for just a few minutes, then drain all together and set aside.

To prepare the sauce: Whisk together the olive oil, flour, salt, and pepper in a saucepan until smooth.  Put on medium heat and whisking constantly, add the soy (or almond) milk a little at a time until incorporated. Reduce the heat to medium-low; return the saucepan to the heat. Slowly whisk in the vegetable broth and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 6 minutes. Add the pesto mixture to the saucepan, whisking until thoroughly blended and heated through. Take care not to boil the sauce. Taste and correct the seasonings. 

Gently toss the pasta and sauce together, serve the pasta topped with tomatoes.  Enjoy! 

Photo coming soon.