Penne Pasta with Creamy Asparagus Sauce

Another pasta dish without the cheese! This was rather elegant and tasty with some surprise ingredients. It is a slightly altered version of the recipe in 1,000 Vegan Recipes. 1,000 Vegan Recipes is an amazing book because it really does have 1,000 recipes. The original recipe calls for 1 pound of pasta which I halved to 8 ounces so I had LOTS of sauce which is the way I like it. Four Stars!

Ingredients
1 pound asparagus, trim off tough ends
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1 TB olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 cup cooked or canned Great Northern white beans
plain soy sauce
1/2 pound penne pasta
fresh basil, amount to your taste, chopped

Directions
Steam asparagus until just tender, about 3 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

Get a large pot of water started and boil your pasta (about 10 minutes until al dente) while you make the sauce.

In large skillet heat oil and cook onion until wilted. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute or two until just starting to brown. Stir in the wine, basil, salt and cayenne and simmer, for about 2 minutes. Add HALF the chopped asparagus and beans and stir to combine.

Transfer the asparagus and bean mixture to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth adding soy milk to thin to desired consistency. Add back to skillet, and keep warm over a very low heat.

When your pasta is cooked al dente, drain, add back to pot, add cream sauce and fresh basil. Stir well, adjust salt & pepper seasoning and serve.