Whole grain pasta topped with a delicious fire-roasted tomato cream sauce. The recipe makes enough sauce for about 4 main-dish servings or 8 side-dish servings. You'll likely have about 1 cup of extra sauce leftover which can be used as a dip. It's also delicious when drizzled over steamed vegetables or baked potatoes.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Sauces, Side Dish
Servings 4people
Equipment
vegetable peeler
knife
cutting board
medium saucepan
colander
high-speed blender
large pot
Ingredients
Pasta
16ozwhole grain (or gluten-free) pasta of your choice I chose a whole grain rotini
Fire Roasted Pasta Sauce
¾cupunsweetened plant milkI used unsweetened soy milk
1 ½cupspotatoes, peeled and dicedI used yukon gold but russet works, too!
15 oz can of crushed or diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained+ additional fire-roasted tomatoes needed, below
¼cupnutritional yeast seasoning
1 tsponion powder
½tspchipotle tabasco
¼cupcashewsbe sure to pre-soak if not using a high-speed blender* (see note)
1tspsea salt+ more if you choose to add salt to your cooking water
½cupreserved pasta cooking watersave this pasta cooking water to add in the final blending step
Fire Roasted Pasta Final Touches
1canfire-roasted tomatoes, drained
2Tbspfresh basil, sliced into strips, optionalslice just prior to serving
Instructions
Prepare your 'mise en place'
Prep your ingredients ahead of time, including peeling and dicing the potatoes. If not boiling right away, place the potatoes in a bowl of cool water to prevent browning.
Boil and drain the potatoes (start heating the pasta water at this point, too)
Bring a medium saucepan of cool water to a boil. Start heating a large pot of pasta water at this point, too. Once the potato water is boiling, add salt to enhance flavor, if desired. Add the peeled and diced potatoes, turn down to a simmer, and cook for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. The potatoes are done when they're easily pierced with a sharp knife. Once done, drain the potatoes using a colander and allow to cool a little.
Blend the sauce
Add the cooked potatoes and all other sauce ingredients to a high-speed blender.* Blend until the sauce becomes smooth and creamy but do not overblend/overheat as the sauce may begin to become clumpy. Keep the sauce in the blending container at this point but set aside.
Boil the pasta
Begin boiling the pasta water at this point if you haven't already. Once the water is boiling, add salt to the water to enhance flavor, if desired. Follow the directions on the box of pasta you choose. Once you've added the dry pasta to the boiling water, keep it at a nice low rolling boil to help the pasta cook evenly. Once the pasta has reached the texture you desire, save ½ cup of the pasta water (this is so easy to forget!) and drain the pasta using a colander. Do not rinse (unless you are using a gluten-free pasta)!
Add some pasta water to the sauce and blend again
Add ½ cup of pasta water to the sauce and blend again briefly until combined.
Pour some of the sauce over the pasta
Once the pasta has been drained, add it back to the empty pot. Then, pour and gently stir in about 3 cups of the sauce until the pasta is nicely coated but not drowning in the sauce. You will likely have about 1 cup of extra sauce to save for later.
Stir in the final ingredients and warm over low heat
Next, gently stir in the well-drained fire roasted tomatoes. Then, warm the pasta and sauce over low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Slice your fresh basil into ribbons at this point as well.
Garnish and Enjoy! :-)
Place the warm sauce-coated pasta into a serving dish and top with fresh basil ribbons. Enjoy! :-)
Notes
*If you're not using a high-speed blender: be sure to use soaked cashews. The cashews can be soaked for an hour or more in boiling water or overnight in room temperature water.