I went live for the first time on Instagram and this was one of the recipes I made! The other recipe i am made was Vegan Collard Greens. I invited over a few friends (some vegetarian, some not) and we enjoyed this meal together. I made a similar recipe in the past but did not post it and did not measure it. (How many times have you done that?!) This time, I measured it and it worked out great. Although kale is a great source of protein, I did not use much. Therefore I used POW Pasta, which is loaded with protein. This particular one, Green Lentil Pasta, was made only from Lentils! Therefore it was vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free. I really hope you enjoy this recipe. It’s creamy, savory goodness and full nutrition. And for those who tuned in (and are reading this) THANK YOU! I hope you (yes, YOU reading this) try it & enjoy it!

Ingredients

• 1 garlic head, roasted (see step 1)
• 1 8oz. box POW pasta (or any pasta you have)
• 1/2 a small sweet mild onion
• 4 large kale leaves*, chopped into small pieces
• 2 tbsp quinoa flour
• ¾  cup raw cashews
• 1 cup mylk**
• 2 cups water+1 low-sodium veggie broth cube***
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Salt & pepper, to taste

*I used curly kale.

**I used hemp milk but use any non-dairy milk you have.

***If you don’t have a veggie cube, use 2 cups of veggie broth.

Instructions

1. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the exposed head then sprinkle with a pinch of salt & pepper. Wrap the bulb with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes, or until garlic just starts browning. Once completely cool, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, soak the cashews in a bowl of very hot water & set aside for about 30 minutes (Note: If you don’t have the time, boil for 10 minutes & drain out the water).
3. Cook the pasta al dente, per package instructions- reserve ¼ to 1/2 cup of the cooking water to thin out the sauce. Once ready, drain and set aside.
4. In a large pan, over medium heat, sauté the onions & kale for about 10 minutes, until golden.
5. Now, add the flour to the pan and coat the kale & onion.
6. Next, lower the heat to a simmer then add the Mylk and 1 cup of water (or veggie broth).
7. In a blender, add the soaked cashews, nutmeg, mustard powder, roasted garlic, nutritional yeast, remaining water + veggie cube (or remaining veggie broth). Blend until smooth.
8. Add the cheese sauce from the blender to the pan. At this point, add the reserve pasta water or more water if needed to thin.
9. Add salt and pepper, if necessary or to taste.

Serving

1.  You can certainly add the pasta to the pan with the hot cheesy kale sauce. However please note that it was will be super creamy. I purposely made a lot of cheese sauces because it can dry out (and we don’t want that).
2. So, another option would be to add the pasta back to the pot and slowly add in the cheese sauce.

[Optional] Toppings 

1. Vegan Parmesan
2. Extra chopped kale
3. Cracked black pepper
4. Fresh basil
5. Red pepper flakes