Peas and Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce
By the Gracious Vegan
This creamy tomato sauce gives the traditional Italian vodka sauce a run for its money. Peas are the perfect complement to the nutty, cheesy sauce, and all kinds of pasta would work well in this dish. The sauce freezes well.
Makes up to 21 servings
The Sauce (makes 7 cups). Soak cashews in cold water at least 2 hours, or pour boiling water over them, cover, and let them soak 20 minutes. (You can skip this step if you have a high-speed blender.)
1 cup raw cashews
When ready, drain the nuts and put them in the blender with broth or water and blend on high for as long as it takes to create a very smooth “cashew cream.”
1 cup vegetable broth or water
In a Dutch oven or other large pan, sauté garlic and onions over medium heat in 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth or water until the garlic and onions are soft (or microwave with 1-2 Tablespoons water). (What is water-sauté?)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red or white onion, roughly chopped
Add the following ingredients to the pan and cook about 5 minutes.
4 cups plain tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (What is Nutritional Yeast?)
1/4 cup tomato paste
Add in the cashew cream and the basil and stir.
2/3 cup fresh basil leaves (measured lightly packed, about 1 ounce), roughly chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dried basil, but fresh basil really makes a difference)
Use an immersion blender (or let the mixture cool a little and use a regular blender) to create a smooth sauce. You can add up to 1 cup water if the sauce is too thick. Make it as smooth or chunky as you like. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
Salt and pepper to taste (I use 1/2 teaspoon salt)
The peas and pasta. For each serving, use
2 ounces chunky pasta (whole wheat or other whole-food version preferred)
1/3 cup frozen peas (I like petite peas)
Boil the pasta and add the peas into the pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Once they are cooked to your liking, drain them and combine with about 1/3 cup sauce per serving.
Timing: hands-on time 25 minutes; total time 25 minutes
Nutritional information per serving: 298 calories, 3g fat, 1g sat. fat, 55g carbs, 329mg sodium, 10mg fiber, 13g protein
Gluten-free if you use gluten-free pasta