Spinach & Artichoke Ziti with garlic cashew sauce

Ingredients:

1 16oz package of Ziti (you can use any kind of ziti! whole wheat, gluten-free, etc.)

2 cans of artichokes

2 cups of spinach

1 bunch of asparagus

Ingredients for sauce:

2 cloves of garlic

2 Kennebec Potatoes

1/2 cup of cashews

1-2 cups of Veggie Broth *Here is a link to a SOS free option*

Garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano

4 tbsp white miso paste

Optional - Nutritional Yeast

How to make sauce:

*I have to give a little warning, I never measure these ingredients. Sometimes my potatoes are small or larger, so I have to adjust. You can use this as a guide, and feel free to add more veggie broth, garlic cloves, spices, or miso paste to taste.

1. Microwave your potatoes for about 4-5 minutes, and then peel them

2. Boil your cashews in water for 5-10 minutes and then strain them

3. Trim off the tip of your garlic clove (trim a small amount off of the top, just so they don't explode when you roast them) and then toss them in the oven or a small toaster oven at 350ºF for about 8-10 minutes. Then peel them! They will be so soft and delicious. You do not need oil to achieve a beautiful, tasty, roasted garlic clove.

4. In a blender (I used a nutribullet), combine the cashews, potatoes, peeled roasted garlic, about 1 tsp of garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano. Add in 1/4 cup of miso paste and 1 cup of veggie broth. You might need to add more veggie broth as you attempt to blend! Make sure this has a thick but pourable consistency, think about an alfredo sauce kind of consistency and aim for that! The miso paste will add more salt flavor, so if you need more salt, just add more miso paste. (Optional to add a few tbsp of nutritional yeast, but I left it out because I know that ingredient scares some people, haha)

5. Blend it all up, and you're done!

How to make veggies:

1. I cut the bottom part of my asparagus off because it's too hard to chew, ha!

2. Then I placed it on some parchment paper and stuck it in the toaster oven at 325ºF for about 10 minutes (no oil needed! It roasts beautifully. If you feel the need to add something to it, feel free to squeeze some lemon on it).

3. In a pan, I sautéed my spinach with some veggie broth (no oil, just add more broth if it starts sticking. You can always strain out the excess broth). Once my spinach was just about cooked, I added the artichokes just to warm them up. Don't cook your artichokes too much or they get mushy, that's why I save them until the end.

Putting it all together:

1. Make your Ziti pasta according to package instructions.

2. In a large, oven-safe pan (I used a sauteuse pan) combine your cooked pasta with your sauce and your sautéed spinach & artichokes. Mix everything together and top it off with your asparagus.

3. You can eat it like this or toss it in the oven at 350ºF for about 5-10 minutes to warm it up before serving. Because I took this recipe to an Easter lunch, I knew I'd want something I could easily toss in the oven and serve hot.

Show me your Ziti! Tag me on Instagram @EatPlantsWithHolly!