Linguini with Roasted Garlic Tarragon Cream Sauce

• 4 servings worth of linguine, prepared according to package

• 1/4 cup margarine (I love Becel's new vegan margarine. I was never keen on the flavour of Earth Balance)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 cooking onion, chopped finely

• 1 bulb plus 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp tarragon

• 1 tsp basil (I used dried herbs)

• freshly ground black pepper

• about 1/4 cup white flour

• 1/4 cup soy creamer or soy milk or almond milk

• about 1 1/2 cups soy milk

There is just no vegan substitute for rich, creamy, fatty fettucini alfredo. That being said, this satisfied the craving. It tasted quite decadent. (It does have the fat part). I just winged it, making a basic roux and adding stuff, so I'm glad it turned out. The soy creamer makes it a bit richer, but I think it would work with just soy milk, too.

Sauce Directions:

Put margarine in saucepan over medium-low heat. When it is melted, add the onions. Add the 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, to the onions, after the first 10 minutes of cooking. Keep the onions cooking until they start to turn brown, stirring occassionally. If the onions are getting dark brown or black quickly, you need to turn the temp down. It should take 15-20 minutes for them to turn light brown.

Meanwhile, roast the bulb of garlic. My roasting method is as follows: Cut the top off the bulb, exposing the tops of the garlic cloves. Peel most of the paper off the outside bulb, leaving a thin layer on the outside, and the cloves intact in their bulb formation. Put the garlic bulb in a small oven-safe dish or on a small tray lined with parchment paper. Pour a generous slurp of canola oil over the bulb of garlic. Put it in the toaster oven (or can use conventional oven) for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Cloves are properly roasted when their exposed part starts to turn brown, and is puffing up a bit out the paper casings.

Let the garlic cool a bit. Meanwhile, add the olive oil to the margarine/onions and then add the flour gradually, stirring with a whisk. Then, add the milk, creamer and seasonings. Turn the stove to low heat. Making sure to watch the sauce and stir it periodically, remove the garlic cloves from their paper casings with a table knife. Put them in a small dish. Once you have removed all of them, mash them with a fork and then add them to the sauce. Cook the sauce, whisking regularly, until it reaches desired thickness. If it is too thick, add more soy milk.

Mix sauce in with the cooked linguini.

Garnish with fresh parsley and kalamata olives (pictured) if so desired.