This creamy spicy roasted red pepper pasta is a stunner! Made with all plant based ingredients this dish is both healthy and savory. This decadent red pepper sauce is topped with salty feta and aromatic basil. Served with your favorite noodles, this dish will have you coming back to the pan until it’s gone.
Tips For Making The Pasta
Cashews
You want to soak the cashews a minimum of 3 hours. I like to soak mine overnight. Pour 1 cup of cashews into a sealable container. I use a mason jar. Pour water covering your cashews by 2 inches. Put a lid on it and let it sit. This makes your cashews soft and allows it to blend for a creamier sauce. When your ready for the cashews strain any excess liquid off the cashews.
Red Peppers
To save time I use the roasted red peppers from a jar.
If you would like to roast your pepper yourself you would do the following.
Heat oven to 500 degrees and roast red peppers on a baking sheet until charred – about 25-30 minutes. Cover in foil for 10 minutes to steam, then peel away charred skin, seeds and stems. Set aside.
Saute Your Vegetables
I find sauting your garlic and leeks gives it a nice carmalized flavor to your sauce.
Clean your leek well before you chop it. Use only the bottom white part. If you don’t have a leek you can sub it for an onion or shallot.
Cooking The Pasta
Cook your pasta according to the package and remember when you are straining the pasta to save a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. I like to take out the water right before I strain the noodles so I won’t forget.
The pasta water is a great addition to any sauce. It adds flavor and the starch in the water helps the sauce stick to the noodles and thicken the sauce.
The Creamy Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
When you are making the sauce in the blender carefully add all your ingredients and half of the pasta water. Blend on high until things start to become smooth. Add in the remaining pasta water. Use a tamper or spatula to occasionally push down the sauce until it is well blended.
If you don’t like spice you can omit the red pepper flakes which make it spicy.
Now you can pour your sauce over your noodles. Mix well and then add in your toppings.
Feta and Basil
I love adding feta and basil to this dish. It really elevates it to the next level. The feta gives it a little extra tangy saltiness and the basil creates a nice fresh taste.
For the basil I like to chiffonade it and add it in at the end.
To chiffonade basil place a few basil leave on top of each other. Roll up the stacks into a tight cylinder. Then you roll up the little stack of leaves into a tight cylinder like you would be rolling a cigarette.
Hold the basil with your non-cutting hand, and use a sharp knife to cut very thin slices crosswise into your basil. Curl your fingers and use your knuckles as a way to guide your knife so you don’t cut your fingers.
They should come out as small ribbons when you’re done.
For the feta I use Violife Vegan Plant Based feta since I don’t eat dairy. This has been by the far the closest plant based cheese that has resembled feta. Feel free to use the real thing if you are eating dairy.
Your sauce should hold up to 5 days in the fridge or you can store it in an airtight container and store it in your freezer for up to 3 months.
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Creamy Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Ingredients
- 14 oz Linginue Pasta Cooked
- 1 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 1 Cup Cashews Soaked
- 1 Cup Leek Chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 Jared Roasted Red Peppers Or Roast your own.
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Pasta Water
- 1/2 Tsp Salt and Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Cup Feta Chunks I use plant based Violife
- 1/4 Basil Chiffonade
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to its packaged instructions. Be sure and save 1/2 cup of the pasta water for the sauce. Strain the noodles and put back into pot.
- Start by chopping and cleaning the leek and mincing the garlic.
- In a small saute pan heat oil.
- Add in leeks and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.
- In a blender add in strained soaked cashews, red pepper flakes, red bell peppers, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, sauteed leeks and garlic.
- Start blending on high. Add in pasta water until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Add in a final splash of lemon juice. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.
- Slowly pour the sauce into the pasta. Mix.
- Add in crumbled feta and chopped basil.
- Plate and garnish with more crushed red pepper flakes and fresh basil.