Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

and it's high in protein

This is one of the best pastas I’ve made in a while and I do pride myself on making good pasta. While grocery shopping the other day I spotted jarred roasted red peppers and which immediately spurred a craving for roasted red pepper pasta. I wanted it to lean creamy without being too heavy (i.e. no cashews please, there is a time and a place). My solution was to add silken tofu, which also added a good amount of protein! The tofu flavour is pretty undetectable in the sauce if you ask me, but creates the perfect level of creaminess.

I served this to a few friends and everyone enjoyed. My best friend even said it’s her favourite thing I’ve ever made for her. Flattered. A sprinkle of fresh basil and finishing drizzle of olive oil is essential. I love a pasta sauce that pretty much all comes together in the blender. The tomato, onion and garlic can easily be roasted instead of sautéed, but I was feeling a bit impatient so stove-top it was. You do you. Here it is…

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

(serves 3-4)

• 350g pasta, cooked to al dente

• 1-2 tbsps olive oil

• 1/2 large red onion, roughly chopped

• 100g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 3-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 1 tsp dry oregano

• 1/3 cup white wine*

• 3 tbsps nutritional yeast

• 1/2 500ml jar roasted red peppers (2 roasted red peppers)

• 15g basil

• 1/2 350g block silken tofu (I used extra firm silken tofu)

• pinch of salt (about 1 tsp)

• Black pepper to taste

• 3/4 cup water or unsweetened plant milk (oat, almond, soy, cashew)

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add red onion, tomato and a small pinch of salt fry until onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and fry for another minute or so. Then pour in the white wine and scape any stuck bits off of the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the wine is mostly evaporated, about a minute or so. 

2. To your blender container, added roasted red pepper, basil, the fried onion and tomato mixture, nutritional yeast, silken tofu, salt, pepper and water/plant milk. Blend until completely smooth.

3. Pour the sauce back into the same pan, bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and stir through the drained pasta. Serve and top with a drizzle of olive oil and a few cracks of black pepper. Enjoy!

*sub wine for veggie broth + a small splash of apple cider vinegar

This maybe took me around 25 minutes max and will be a go-to from now on. I also feel like this will work with just tomato, or even another veggie. I’ll have to experiment and keep you posted. Until next time, hope you’re eating well.

-Raquel xox

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