A Taste of Epcot, Recipe 18: Baked Alfredo
Baked Lobster Alfredo is served up at the Hops & Barley Marketplace during Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. When I first started brainstorming ways to replace the lobster in this dish, my mind initially went to vegetarian chicken, tofu, vegetarian shrimp, etc. The cookbook itself actually suggests substituting chicken for the lobster as an alternative. After a bit of deliberation, I opted to forgo the lobster all together and make my twist on the recipe be a cauliflower alfredo sauce.
I’ve heard lots of good reports from people making a cauliflower-based alfredo sauce. I have to admit, I had serious doubts about how good the sauce would taste, but I’m officially a convert. It was pretty incredible, and I think it worked even better in this dish because the rest of the dish still used more decadent ingredients like margarine and dairy-free cheese. And as an added bonus, it’s a great way to get even the pickiest of eaters to scarf down some cauliflower.
This dish can also easily be made gluten-free by substituting gluten-free pasta and bread crumbs.
Panko Topping Ingredients:
2 tbsp melted dairy-free margarine
1/4 cup shredded dairy-free cheddar cheese
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Panko Topping Instructions:
Mix ingredients and set aside.
Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
3/4 cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened
Alfredo Sauce Instructions:
1. Saute garlic in water for 1-2 minutes. Add milk and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper, and cauliflower. Cook 7-8 minutes.Â
2. Transfer cauliflower mixture to a blender and add nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.Â
3. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
Baked Alfredo Ingredients:
1/3 cup dairy-free shredded cheese
Baked Alfredo Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions, typically 8 minutes.
2. Drain and rinse pasta. Add pasta and cheese to alfredo sauce. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.Â
3. Spread pasta into a baking dish and sprinkle with panko topping. Bake 20 minutes.Â