Avocado Alfredo

A few weeks ago, I was feeling uber courageous with my Meatless Monday meal. I was craving Fettuccine Alfredo, but didn’t want to be laden with all that cheese and cream. I searched for alternatives and found a few pasta recipes that called for an avocado-cream sauce. They each sounded delicious, so I did a combination of them. After work I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some avocados and the Tofu linguini caught my eye. In the basket it went. 

Also about a week before I had bought one of those pods for avocados, to keep them fresh. I had to find out if it worked. So clearly, I was looking forward to this meal. Pasta. Cream. Avocado. Couldn’t get any better!

I couldn’t decide where to start, so I began with the linguini. The bag was full of water and noodles. When I cut it open, I noticed a funny smell (unknowingly, completely normal). Following the package instructions, I microwaved the noodles for two minutes and then patted dry. The stench was gone and the noodles steamed. I tossed it in a colander to sit while I put the sauce together. 

The sauce I used came from a few websites and so I did not follow one exactly. One site created a light guacamole type sauce, whereas another had an avocado creamy sauce made with milk. I do not normally have milk in my fridge, so adapted the two to fit my supplies. 

I started with the food processor, definitely one of my favorite kitchen appliances. In it, I put some garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. I pureed the garlic with the liquid before adding diced avocado, salt, pepper, basil, and Parmesan cheese. I pulsed this mix together until the avocado was mashed. The sauce took a healthy green color. 

Next, I put half a block of cream cheese in a saucepan to melt with a scoop of mayonnaise. They melded together and I could see the cream base coming together. I mixed in the avocado mixture from the food processor over the heat and stirred them together. The sauce became a lighter color, so I added another half of a diced avocado. 

The additional avocado brought back the green that the food processor mixture had. The sauce smelt delicious and I couldn’t wait to try it. I dipped a cracker into it and my nose was right; it was creamy and light and delicious. 

Time to add the tofu linguini. I poured the noodles into the saucepan, which was still over a low-heat, and stirred the sauce to coat them. There was more sauce than noodles, and I was out of noodles. 

In my cupboard I found whole-wheat angel hair. I broke up some strands and threw them in another pot of boiling water. Once they were cooked I mixed them in with the tofu linguini and avocado sauce. 

The shortfall of pasta added another 20 minutes to my cooking time. By the end of the cooking process I was no longer hungry, but knew I had to at least try my sweat and tears. 

I made a small bowl and sat down on the couch. The sauce was still delicious and when I had it with the angel hair, I knew I’d be eating it again. Soon. However, when I snagged a piece of the tofu linguini in my fork, the bite was spongy and tasted like rubber. It was enough to turn me off to the bowl in front of me. Though the leftovers went into plastic containers in the fridge, a week later they were untouched and thrown out. 

Next time, I think I will half the sauce and only use real pasta. I have not tried another recipe since with the tofu ‘pasta’ and I’m not sure I will. It did make for a great sauce that I wish I could have enjoyed more.