Sausage & Broccoli Pasta alla Vodka
I’ve been noticing something everywhere. I’m sure you have too. It’s at Whole Foods, Ralph’s, Target and Costco. You can find it at Starbucks and Burger King, Carl’s Jr, Dunkin’, and Denny’s. I’m talking about plant-based meat.
I’ve had plant-based “meat” before. When I was young, single (and probably hungover) in a fifth-floor walkup apartment, sometimes the only option for sustenance was my roommate’s Morningstar Farms Buffalo Chik’n Patties in the freezer (they were actually delicious, especially dipped in Ranch dressing). But plant-based meats have come a looooong way since the days of soy-based plant protein (tofu, tempeh), or seitan (wheat gluten). Now the options are vast, and we have forward-looking brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods which put both the environmental and health impacts of eating meat front and center in their marketing campaigns.
I am not someone who shies away from meat. I understand the whole circle of life thing (my family once owned a cattle company), and I’m from Texas, so enjoying a perfectly-cooked steak is basically part of my DNA. But lately, I’ve been curious about these ubiquitous plant-based meats… They tout how much better for the environment their products are to create than traditional meat with figures like “87% less water” and “96% less land” usage (Impossible Foods). And since my doc said to “cool it” on my saturated fat and cholesterol intake (hello middle age!), I needed to find a solve.
There it was. Sitting in the refrigerated display chest at Whole Foods. Not just plant-based “ground beef,” but a plant-based HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE. On sale no less! I threw it in the cart with no specific recipe in mind. This could go very well or horribly wrong and I would only have myself to blame…
When I got home, I decided that a pasta would be the perfect vehicle for this experiment. That way, if it was a total disaster, I’d at least have carbs and cheese to cover it up. Then I decided to take it one step further and make the whole dish vegan. Maybe I’ve been living in LA too long, but I figured what the hell!
I thought making my typical Pasta alla Vodka with Sausage & Broccoli (sometimes peas instead of brocc) would be a great place to try swapping in vegan ingredients, so off I went!
Instead of:
Hot Italian Pork Sausage → Hot Italian Beyond Sausage
Heavy Cream → Coconut Milk
Parmesan → Vegan Parm
All the other ingredients in the dish were already vegan (pasta made without eggs) or vegetables themselves!
I started by heating some olive oil in a dutch oven, and removed the Beyond Sausage from the package. Curious as to what it was made of, I was surprised that it was made of pea protein (and not soy or wheat gluten). I thought this was a “win,” because I have friends who have both gluten and soy allergies. So this product was safe for them. The sausages didn’t have a casing, and were easy to crumble into pieces. I began breaking them up further during cooking. It wasn’t as firm as pork sausage, but it did start to brown! I had to stir it more frequently to prevent sticking than I would using animal sausage—I assume because there’s not a lot of fat to render during cooking. The only thing I wasn’t used to was the cooking oil surrounding the sausage crumbles in the pan kind of… foamed? But we persevere…
After it was sufficiently browned (the package directions say to cook to 165ºF for food safety), I added in the usual suspects for my vodka sauce: shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, a whole tube/can of tomato paste. Let the tomato paste turn from red to a brick/rust color, then pour in the vodka to deglaze the pan. Once the vodka has almost entirely cooked out, I typically add heavy cream, but since we’re going full vegan here, I added a can of full-fat coconut milk.
Reduce heat, and let the sauce thicken. You’ll know it’s ready when you draw your spoon through it and it leaves a trail. You want it to be thicker than you think. I feel like this is something Chefs think of as second nature, but don’t say explicitly: When making a pasta sauce, always go thicker, then thin it out with pasta water. We constantly hear about saving the magical starchy pasta water, but no one talks about how the sauce into which you’re incorporating it should be almost too thick, so that you can thin it out. Thank you for coming to my Pasta Ted Talk.
While the sauce-making is happening, I’m roasting broccoli cut into tiny 1” bite-sized pieces in a 400ºF oven (for about 12 mins). You can totally skip this step, and throw the broccoli in with your pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking, but I find that roasting the broccoli (1) gives it a sweeter flavor and caramelization, and (2) doesn’t make all of your pasta taste like broccoli, too.
When your pasta is finished cooking, and before you drain it, save at least 1 cup of your pasta water. Add pasta to the pan with the sauce, and start with just 1/2 a cup of the pasta water. Stir, stir, stir until it becomes glossy. Add your vegan parmesan cheese (or regular). Stir, stir, stir. Fold in your broccoli, and serve it up!
The Verdict? It was REALLY REALLY GOOD!!! The flavor was on point; it felt like I was eating something substantial with protein, and my husband Josh said he would’ve never known the difference had I not told him it was completely vegan!
Here’s my take: It’s a great way to incorporate a plant-based meal/products into your normal dinner routine. I think the Beyond Sausage has great sausage flavor, and cooked up well. It lacks the firmer texture of animal meat, but with the health and sustainability benefits, I would totally eat this on the regular! The coconut milk (instead of heavy cream) definitely imparted a mild coconut flavor to the dish… but I didn’t hate it. I think next time I’ll go a little heavier on the vegan parmesan (which, by the way, was a GREAT sub for traditional parm).
If you have any curiosity about the plant-based meats, I say GO FOR IT! Especially if you’re mixing them with bold flavors and sauces (would be great for taco night, on salads, in casseroles, etc).
So try making this pasta… make it the completely vegan way, the vegan-ish way by subbing out plant-based products for some of the ingredients, or the full-monty traditional way—I’ve written them all into the recipe below. Buon appetito!
(Vegan) Sausage & Broccoli Pasta alla Vodka
If a Shapeshifter were a meal, it could easily be this dish. You can make this vegan (using a meat substitute, coconut milk, and vegan parmesan), or with pork/turkey/chicken sausage, heavy cream, and parmigiano reggiano. For the vegetables, I usually go with oven-roasted broccoli, but have been known to just throw in some frozen peas in a pinch (still delicious!). If you feel like minimizing dishes, you can also just boil broccoli florets in the pasta cooking water for the last 3-5 minutes of pasta cooking time. I have made this pasta every way listed above, and I love it in all its forms!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 pound vegan sausage (like Beyond Sausage) or pork Italian sausage, removed from casings
2 small shallots, minced (equal to about ⅓ cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
½-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on desired spice level
4-6 ounces tomato paste (either an entire tube or small can)
¼ cup vodka
1 (13.5oz) can of coconut milk or 2 cups heavy cream
1 pound short pasta
1 large head broccoli cut into 1” bite-sized florets
⅓ cup grated vegan parmesan or parmigiano reggiano cheese, plus for more serving
¼ cup torn Basil leaves or Chopped Parsley, for serving
Kosher salt & Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Method:
In a large pot, bring salted water to boil over medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut broccoli into 1” florets and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread evenly onto a sheet pan, and roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until broccoli is crisp tender and browned at the edges. Set aside.
In a dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage, and cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until it has turned brown, about 8-10 minutes (If using pork sausage, cook until no pink remains, and outside has caramelized).
Add minced shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes to taste. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the shallots become translucent.
Move the sausage-vegetable mixture to the side of the pan and add tomato paste. Cook tomato paste by itself, stirring constantly, until it caramelizes and turns a brick/rust color, then incorporate the paste into sausage mixture.
Add the vodka and stir vigorously to scrape up any fond that has accumulated on the bottom of the pan. Once the vodka has almost completely cooked away, add coconut milk (or heavy cream) and stir until the sauce turns a pale coral color. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens enough to leave a trail when you pull your spoon through it. Turn off heat, but keep sauce warm until the pasta is finished cooking.
Drop pasta into boiling, salted water and cook according to the minimum time listed on the package. Before draining pasta, remove 1 cup of starchy cooking water.
Add pasta directly to the pan with sauce, and stir to incorporate. Add ½ cup of pasta water and continue stirring until sauce loosens and becomes glossy (keep the rest of the pasta cooking water on hand in case it needs more later). Stir in grated parmesan and broccoli. Taste for seasoning–adding salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately topped with additional parmesan, basil or parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil for garnish.
*Notes
Since vegan sausage releases less fat while cooking, you may need to add more olive oil to brown it. I’ve found it also requires more stirring than animal-based products. If you use coconut milk instead of heavy cream, keep stirring frequently to avoid separation. I prefer the broccoli cooked separately from the pasta. In my opinion, when the broccoli is boiled in the pasta cooking water, everything takes on the broccoli flavor. However, doing so means fewer dishes and no heating the oven, so it’s up to you!
