Saffron and Shallot Almond Milk Sauce

(pictured: ravioli on a pool of saffron and shallot sauce topped with fresh diced tomato)

This sauce was made intentionally light because the ravioli filling is high in fat. It was healthy fat, but still fat. I wanted a sauce that would be creamy without a lot of fat.

A few weeks ago we made a saffron cream sauce in cooking class. This sauce is loosely based on the sauce from class except without all the saturated fat and calories you would expect from a sauce of reduced heavy cream.

I used this sauce as a pool on the bottom of the plate and placed the ravioli on top the sauce and then finished with fresh-diced tomato for freshness. The sauce added a nice lightness to the ravioli and fresh tomatoes.

Saffron and Shallot Almond Milk Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup shallots, finely minced
2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
2 pinches saffron
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoon water
1 pinch kosher salt, to taste

Directions:

Sauté the shallot in the canola oil until soft. Add the almond milk and saffron and simmer to reduce by 25 percent. Combine the dissolved cornstarch into the starch and whisk to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes so the sauce will thicken.

Serve the sauce in a pool on the plate with the ravioli and diced tomato on top.

Nutritional Information (for the entire recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 201.59
Calories From Fat (58%) - 117.7

Total Fat - 13.05g
Saturated Fat - 0.53g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 587.73mg
Potassium - 516.25mg
Total Carbohydrates - 18.11g
Fiber - 2.08g
Sugar - 0g
Protein - 3.04g

Comments:

The saffron flavor is subtle in this sauce. I was surprised by the richness from the sautéed shallots and almond milk. Cornstarch was used in place of a roux since I wanted a lighter body to the sauce.

This sauce would also be good over vegetables, veggie burgers, or crispy seitan cutlets