Best (So Far) Uncheese Pasta Sauce

You may be aware of the delicious (or so I hear) cashew-based cheese sauce that is served at Real Food Daily here in the Los Angeles area. The recipe is in the restaurant's cookbook, and Colleen Patrick-Goudreau put it in her Color Me Vegan cookbook as well because it is just that good.  I decided to adapt the recipe to suit those with nut allergies, so I replaced the cashews with sunflower seeds, and found it to be super-delicious with the addition of 1-2 tsp agave nectar to compensate for the fact that cashews are much sweeter than sunflower seeds. This recipe can hardy be called my own creation, but I wanted to share with those of you who may not have tried this sauce because of the cashews. My kids LOVE it on their pasta.

1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. raw sunflower seeds
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 1/2 c. oat milk
1/4 c. full-fat coconut milk
2 tbsp. arrowroot powder
1/4 c. canola oil
2 Tbsp. chickpea miso
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-2 tsp. agave nectar

1. Finely grind the sunflower seeds in a food processor. Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and pulse to combine.
2. In a saucepan, combine the oat milk, coconut milk, arrowroot powder, and oil and bring to a simmer over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover, and stir occasionally until thickened.
3. Add the milk mixture to the sunflower seed mixture in the food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the miso, lemon juice, and 1 tsp. agave and blend again.  Taste and add additional agave if needed.