Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms

Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms is a 30-minute savory meal with multiple flavor profiles that is bound to be a hit on date night. 

Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

I think it’s safe to say by now that growing up I ate in a fair share of chain restaurants. One of them being Romano’s Macaroni Grill on almost a weekly basis (insane, I know). The savory rosemary bread dipped in olive oil, the crunchy caesar salad, the creamy chianti style Pasta Milano, and the scrumptious brownie sundaes were my go-to’s. 

As much as I miss those days, there’s quite literally nothing there for vegans, and through the years I’ve lost interest in eating out *that often*. But that doesn’t mean I can’t remake some of my favorite recipes at home.

This is why, after months of research, today I’m sharing the vegan version of Romano’s Macaroni Grill Chianti Style Pasta Milano. Now, I don’t necessarily know if that’s the actual name as their dishes tend to vary per location. However, Pasta Milano is the closest I could get when comparing their Puerto Rico menu to the one in the United States.

The making of: Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms

This Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms is fettuccine pasta with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes in a cashew alfredo-style sauce, topped with mushrooms cooked in Chianti wine. It’s definitely one of the yummiest pasta dishes that I’ve ever made. Plus it’s incredibly filling and savory with so many flavors within the same dish. 

When veganizing any dish, you have to think about the original dish and the end result. The original dish, Pasta Milano, has a creamy sauce that’s made with heavy cream (or half & half) & parmesan cheese, and it’s served with chianti steak on top. Both of those things are clearly not vegan, so how can we veganize them in a way that will give the desired end result (look & feel)?

For the sauce, I choose cashews because out of all of the vegan-friendly substitutes for creamy sauces, cashews combined with nutritional yeast yield the best result. As for the steak and the chianti sauce, I’m choosing mushrooms as a plant-based alternative, just because I like to keep my recipes as plant-based as possible. However, you can choose whichever steak alternative you desire; nowadays there are many brands that have come up with seitan vegan steaks.

Now, for the star of the show, the chianti sauce. Chianti is a medium-bodied, highly acidic, tartly-juicy ruby red wine with flavors of cherry and earth, produced primarily with Sangiovese grapes in the Chianti region of Tuscany, Italy. All of that is what gives chianti a good range for use in cooking; plus the combination of cherry, dried herbs, and smokiness makes it the perfect choice for rich sauces. With that being said, I’m aware that chianti might be difficult to find for some, so feel free to use any other red wine that you have on hand.

All in all, 30 minutes is enough to make this recipe of Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms and you will enjoy a delicious, nutritious, and freshly made dish. If you don’t have fettuccine, you can use any other variety of pasta that you have like spaghetti, linguini, penne, etc. 

When it comes to veggies, sundried tomatoes and spinach are essential to keep this recipe authentic. However, you can add any other veggies that you’d like. I’ve made this same dish by adding in artichokes, broccoli, and bell peppers, which make for a very hearty dish. 

This Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms is one of those dishes that no one can resist. The end result is so delicious that many will want to try some more, and there is no need to worry about the preparation time since both the sauce and the pasta are cooked at the same time.

Notes:

• Sundried tomatoes: If using the sun-dried tomatoes that come in oil, make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes before throwing them in the pan, but make sure to reserve about 2 tablespoons of it for the dish. This is to make sure the pasta ends up creamy and not oily.
• To make this recipe gluten-free, use your preferred gluten-free pasta.
• If you would rather not use alcohol (wine) in this recipe, you can substitute for red wine vinegar or unsweetened pomegranate juice.

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Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti Mushrooms

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce:

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup water
• ¼ nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil, or oil from the sundried tomatoes jar
• ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 5 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp oregano

Chianti Mushrooms:

• 12 ounces of Mushrooms sliced
• ¼ cup chianti wine
• ¼ cup veggie broth (room temperature)
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Pasta:

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• 16oz (1lbs) Fettuccine noodles

Procedure

1. Start by heating olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and minced garlic, and cook until softened, for about 3 minutes.
2. Proceed to add the sliced sundried tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir for about 1 minute. Then reduce heat to low.
3. Add the chopped spinach and allow it to wilt.
4. While that is cooking, to a smaller skillet add Chianti wine, sliced mushrooms, and season with salt & pepper. Cook to medium-low heat.
5. In a separate bowl, add cornstarch and the room-temperature veggie broth. Mix until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.
6. Once the mushrooms have softened, add veggie broth and cornstarch mixture to them. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally. Once the sauce thickens up, remove the chianti mushrooms from heat and set them aside.
7. Then bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat; season water with oil and desired amount of salt. Add fettuccine and cook al dente, according to package directions.
8. While the pasta is cooking, add cashews, water, and nutritional yeast to a high-speed blender or bullet. Blend until the cashews turn creamy, and not grainy. You might want to blend the cashews twice in order to get the desired consistency.
9. Once the pasta is ready, save about ½  cup of pasta water, drain the rest and set it aside.
10. Add pasta to the sundried tomato skillet, along with the cashew cream and oregano.
11. Mix together until well combined. If the sauce becomes too thick or dry, simply add some of the reserved pasta water and adjust seasonings as desired.
12. When done, serve pasta and top with the chianti mushrooms. ENJOY!

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