Meat Lovers: Vegan Broccoli and Ziti with Parma Rosa Sauce

I live in the North End, Boston's historic Italian section which is home to some of the best restaurants in town. While most of the menus here are laden with dairy and meat, most of restaurants are very accommodating- you just have to ask. I have had some amazing vegan meals here.

One thing that I have often seen and wanted is parma rosa sauce. Sadly this sauce is composed of heavy cream and so I have not had the opportunity to try it. So the other day, I decided to make a vegan version.

It came out better than I expected and this recipe made a lot so there were plenty of leftovers. This is a thick, creamy sauce with tomato base. It is healthy in its vegan version and has tons of yummy veggies hidden inside. I hope you enjoy it as much as Joe and I did.

Vegan Broccoli and Ziti with Parma Rosa Sauce
Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, broken down into small florets head of cauliflower

2 medium white potatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of oregano

A dash of paprika

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper

1 head of broccoli

1 medium white onion
2 lbs of plum tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

Chop up the cauliflower and peel and chop the potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Chop the garlic and onion as well. Combine them all in a medium sauce pan and water, enough to cover the veggies. Cover and boil until soft. This takes about 15 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, make your pasta. I used ziti, but you can use whatever you like best. Clean, breakdown and steam your broccoli florets. Drain it and keep it covered (off the heat) until you are ready to serve.

Set your oven to 375. Take your diced tomatoes and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with some grapeseed oil. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes collapse. Remove them and let them cool.

Once the steamed veggies are ready, add them to the food processor with the remaining water, spices, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper. Process the ingredients until you have a smooth mixture. Add the roasted tomatoes to the food processor and combine until you have a sauce that is rosy colored and thick. As your are processing, drizzle in some EVOO to thin it out a bit. If your sauce is still too thick, take some of the water that you boiled your pasta in and add it to the processor. The starchy water will help thin the sauce.

Combine your pasta and broccoli in a large bowl and then slowly add your sauce. Mix well and serve. I added some sun dried tomatoes to mine, but Joe doesn't like them so I added them at the end and then added a small sprinkle of nutritional yeast.