Recipe: Creamy Orecchiette with Cabbage & Peas

I am a huge proponent of eating as seasonally & locally as possible, & have been a proud share holder of a local organic farm for 4 years now. Being a CSA member has made a huge impact on my diet, & challenges me to expand my palette & recipe repertoire. I don’t have a choice in what I get, which, most of the time, I think is awesome. I have a new found appreciation for veggies that I might not have sought out on my own like okra, kohlrabi, turnips, & kabocha squash. At the same time, the over-abundance certain seasonal items can get a bit tedious. I am certainly not complaining, I am so grateful to have fresh, organic, local food at my fingertips, but there are certain items I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit less of towards the end of it’s season.

In the winter, it’s cabbage.

I have a few go-to recipes to get me through the season, but I am always looking for   new ways to cook & enjoy this particularly abundant winter green. When yet another head of cabbage arrived in my share, I set out to try a new type of recipe. I’ve made endless salads, a few soups, plenty of coleslaw, cabbage wraps, & even a vegan colcannon, but had never used it in a pasta dish.

As I searched for some inspiration for what to do with this Savoy cabbage, I stumbled upon a recipe in a magazine that struck my fancy. This recipe incorporated cabbage with some of my favorite combos, pasta, peas, & a rich cream sauce. However, this dish was far from vegan. Inspiration achieved & challenge accepted. I knew exactly how to proceed with this cabbage situation, make a vegan version of this rich winter dish.

It wasn’t until after we’d polished off the entire batch (over the course of a weekend, mind you) that the perfect topping for this dish occurred to me. TEMPEH BACON! Oh, or even coconut bacon. Where was my mind? Not only would it add an additional pop of color, it would add another layer of flavor & texture. So, please promise me when you try this dish that you will add some form of vegan bacon, & let me know if I was truly on to something. I most certainly will add that topping when I make this dish again!

Creamy Orecchiette with Savoy Cabbage & Peas

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound orecchiette, or shell pasta
• 2 Tablespoon vegan butter
• 1 small Savoy cabbage, quartered lengthwise, core discarded, & leaves thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup prepared cashew “heavy” cream (see below)
• 1 cup thawed organic frozen peas
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. While pasta cooks, heat vegan butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté cabbage, & stir until golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Add scallions, vegetable broth, & cashew cream. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, about 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat & stir in peas, lemon zest, lemon juice, sea salt, & pepper.
4. Before draining pasta, reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water & set aside. Combine pasta with cabbage mixture & 3/4 cup reserved pasta water in a large bowl. Moisten with remaining water if needed. Top with an additional squeeze of lemon juice, lemon zest & red pepper. I also added micro arugula as a garnish.

Cashew ‘Heavy’ Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews, soaked over night
• 1/3-1/2 cup filtered water
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, or high speed blender, combine cashews, water, & salt.
2. Blend until smooth & creamy, about 5 minutes, adding more water to thin the consistency if needed.

****for this recipe I thinned out the cashew cream considerably to resemble the consistency of heavy cream.

Enjoy!