Dairy Free Creamy Capsicum Pasta
Sometimes you just need a great big bowl of creamy pasta. This recipe has the perfect combination of creamy cashews, tomato and sweet red capsicum. It’s such a great comfort food recipe, because not only is it delicious, but it is also super fast to make. In fact, you can have the whole recipe made in the time it takes to cook your pasta.
The kids will also love this recipe, because the capsicum adds a natural sweetness. Another bonus is the addition of capsicums adds an extra vegetable that you may not always be able to get them to eat. The sauce comes out so thick and red, you can even be super sneaky and add other vegetables. I’ve managed to add spinach and zucchini without my kids having any idea.
You can purchase roasted red capsicums by the jar in the olives section of the supermarket. They are also available at the deli, but I think those tend to be in oil, not water. When you’re buying your capsicum, make sure you buy mild and sweet, not spicy ones. I made that mistake once! Also, some brands call them peppers, not capsicum. The jar that I use has some garlic in the water as well. I just add these to the blender – they add to the flavour!
You will need a blender for this recipe. If you don’t have a high speed blender, you can presoak the cashews for about 10 minutes in boiling water so that they will blend better.
I hope you enjoy this warming comfort meal as the nights start to cool down!
To Make:
Step 1: Boil water and cook pasta according to packet directions.
Step 2: While pasta is cooking, add sauce ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth.
Step 3: Add Peas in the last minutes of pasta cooking time. When cooked, drain pasta and set aside. Do not rinse, as this keeps the pasta sticky and helps the sauce stick to the pasta.
Step 4: Heat the blended sauce ingredients in a frying pan or the pasta pot. When heated through, add the cooked pasta and stir through with tongs until the pasta is coated with sauce. Serve with vegan parmesan.
Creamy Capsicum Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Jar Roasted Capsicum in water, approx 300g
- 1/2 cup Cashews
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Peas
- 500g Pasta
- 2 Tbs Tomato Paste
Instructions
- Fill a large saucepan with water, and put on to boil.
- While waiting for the water to boil, drain roasted capsicum. Place capsicum, cashews and water in blender. Blend until smooth.
- Once water is boiled, pour pasta into water to cook. When pasta is almost cooked, add in frozen peas to cook.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and set aside.
- Put the large saucepan back on a medium heat. Pour capsicum mixture into saucepan, and heat until warmed through. Add tomato paste amd stir. Add pasta and peas and stir until coated with capsicum mixture. Cook until fully heated.
| Nutrient | Per Serve | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 2704kJ (646cal) | 866kJ (207cal) |
| Protein | 22.86g | 7.32g |
| Carbohydrates | 96.19g | 30.79g |
| Fat | 16.26g | 5.21g |
| Iron | 3.53mg | 1.13mg |
| Zinc | 2.24mg | 0.72mg |
| Calcium | 52.23mg | 16.72mg |
| Fibre | 9.94g | 3.18g |
