The aroma of fresh basil creates an enticing dish when paired with the richness of roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s a great dairy-free main dish and can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free penne.
Leftover sauce is also yummy as a spread for bread as an appetizer or snack. Using fresh basil as a garnish makes the dish even more fragrant.
Roasting red peppers is so quick and easy! You can use them in almost any salad or pasta dish, or serve them cold on an appetizer tray. Store them in a jar with a little bit of olive oil and they will keep refrigerated for a week or two. Just let them come to room temperature before serving.
NO they are not burned! This is what they look like after the blackened skin in peeled off. The peppers will be perfectly soft and luscious.
Here are a few more delicious vegan pasta recipes:
Savory Butternut Squash with Pasta
Creamy Red Pepper Penne with Fresh Basil
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 servings
Flavorful and satisfying pasta dish made with a creamy red pepper sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 large red bell peppers
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup oil-marinated sun-dried tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup raw cashews (unsalted), soaked for at least 1 hour
- 2 cups chopped fresh basil plus whole leaves for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more, to taste)
- 3/4 lb penne pasta
Instructions
Set your oven broiler to low. Place the red peppers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil the peppers on the top shelf of the oven, turning them with tongs every few minutes to blacken them on all sides. When the peppers are black on all sides, remove them from the oven, wrap the aluminum foil around them completely and let them rest until they are cool enough to handle. Peel and/or scrape the skins off and remove the seeds and stem. Slice the peppers.
Drain the water from the cashews and add them to a food processor with the peppers and the remaining ingredients (except the penne). Process until very smooth.
Cook the penne in salted water until tender but not mushy. Drain quickly and return the penne to the pot with the sauce. Stir to combine completely. Serve immediately with whole basil leaves as garnish.
Notes
You can used jarred roasted peppers in place of roasting them yourself, but the finished recipe may not have the rich flavor achieved with home-roasted peppers.
This recipe can be cut in half or doubled; it works well either way.
Courses main dish
3
Leave a Reply