Creamy (Vegan) Avocado Pasta

I like to try new things.  Just ask my poor husband.  Lately, I’ve been on a quest to prove that there is delicious vegan food out there.  I know, crazy thing for a non-vegan to do but bear with me here.  For awhile, I was a vegetarian.  I just wanted to try it.  Now, I’m not anymore.  I generally stay away from red meat (occasionally we’ll have a steak or burgers, but I just don’t crave it too much. Give me a chicken breast any day!) and I, on the whole, just don’t eat a lot of meat.  I’ve found a lot of ways to eat delicious other things instead.

Anyway, what I’m trying to get to, really, is the delicious pasta dish that I made tonight–that happens to be vegan. And *gasp* the hubby liked it. He even said he’d eat it again!

Creamy Avocado PastaAdapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. brown rice vermicelli
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 4 tsp minced garlic
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• 1 TBSP dried basil
• 2 “dashes” of salt
• 2 ripe avocados

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.
2. While the pasta is cooking, combine in the EVOO, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor. (Or, if you’re me, the 3 cup food chopper that you own) Blend until well-mixed
3. Add the avocado and basil.  Blend again until creamy.  Add a few dashes of salt and blend some more.  Use a spatula to get some of the stuff from the bottom up and blend some more!
4. Drain your pasta, add the sauce, and enjoy!

This was a DELICIOUS pasta dish! I doubled the recipe as provided by OSG, because the pasta was difficult to divide into servings.  Consequently, we ate a tad more than we really should have.  Nevertheless, it was quite good.  The avocado flavor was there, but not too strong, and melded well with the garlic and lemon juice.  I actually think that I’ll use less olive oil next time.  OSG also called for fresh basil leaves, which I hope to try next time I make this.  The basil flavor didn’t come through really at all, but I didn’t have access to fresh basil this time of year.  Definitely a delightful, refreshing dish that we’ll make again.
Happy weekend!