Red pepper pasta with roasted cauliflower
This red pepper pasta is creamy, cheesy, and completely plant-based. The red pepper sauce is so good you'll want to put it on top of everything.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 359kcal
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
For the sauce (the sauce serves 5 to 8 portions, I find it more practical to do it for 8 and save the leftovers in a jar)
- 8 ounces roasted bell peppers drained, from a jar or can
- 14.5 ounces canned tomatoes 1 jar or can (you can use any canned tomatoes or tomato sauce)
- ¾ cup almonds peeled (or cashews)
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ clove garlic
For the roasted cauliflower
- 1 cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
For the pasta (with 1 pound of pasta you can serve 5 to 8 people)
- 1 pound pasta penne, ziti, maccheroni, etc
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes optional
- 1 handful parsley optional
Instructions
- Clean the cauliflower, cut it up into small florets, and bake it in the oven with some olive oil and salt at 350F or 180C for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime put the water for the pasta to boil then make the pasta sauce. To a blender, add canned tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, almonds, water, garlic and salt.
- Blend for 5 minutes until the sauce is completely smooth.
- Transfer the sauce to a non stick pan and let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt if necessary.TIP: the sauce is enough to serve 8 portions. If you are making pasta for less people, then only use the sauce you need, then store the leftover in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Drain when al dente, but save 2 cups of pasta cooking water.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce, add 1 cup of pasta cooking water and the baked cauliflower. I like to add half of the cauliflower, and eat the other half as a side.Stir gently, adding more pasta water if necessary. Sprinkle with parsley and chili flakes, and serve.
STORAGE
- Red pepper sauce: store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container, like a mason jar, for up to 5 days. Store the sauce before cooking it on the pan.
- Pasta: if you have leftover pasta (with the sauce) you can eat it the day after, even cold. It will be still delicious. Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 24 hours.
Nutrition
Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Potassium: 634mg | Dietary Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 337IU | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin C: 53mg | Vitamin E: 5mg | Vitamin K: 24µg | Calcium: 95mg | Folate: 70µg | Iron: 3mg | Manganese: 1mg | Magnesium: 91mg | Zinc: 2mg