Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Packed full of rich and sweet flavour, but whipped up in no time. If you’re a lover of pasta, but are also a bit of a lazy cook, this roasted red pepper pasta dish is perfect. Using red peppers from the jar, you can whip together this amazingly tasty sauce to mix through your favourite pasta shape mid-week. Ideal for students, lazy cooks, and those on a budget.

To make roasted red pepper pasta you’ll need:

• Pasta (your choice – I went for penne as the sauce gets all stuck in there mmmm)

• Roasted red peppers (you can find these in most supermarkets in a jar and they’re a great pantry staple)

• Coconut cream (this ingredient adds that dairy-free creaminess)

• Garlic

• Onion

• Chilli

You can of course add extra vegetables to make this even more nutritious, such as spinach stirred through right at the end, or some roasted tenderstem broccoli placed on top.

Once you’ve put your pasta on to cook in a pan of salted boiling water, you can get stuck into your sauce. Make sure to save a ladle of pasta water once its ready and drained, and add this into your sauce.

For the sauce itself, all you need to do is fry off the onions and garlic in plenty of olive oil. Then add in your remaining ingredients and cook through to create a delicious sweet and spicy sauce.

If you aren’t keen on spice, only add a pinch of chilli flakes, or swap for a pinch of chilli powder which tends to be less powerful. You can of course omit, but it really brings out the flavour.

Next you’ll need a blender, or hand blender, to blitz up the sauce. You definitely don’t need a Vitamix or anything special. Just a simple affordable blender from your local supermarket or online will do perfectly! If you don’t already have one and are vegan or wanting to eat more plant based meals, I highly recommend getting one as a staple for your kitchen. There are a huge range out there for lots of budgets.

The sauce should be a beautiful and bright orange colour. We eat with our eyes after all! Make sure to give it a taste, and adjust the seasoning according to your preferences. I didn’t add it in this recipe, as I was trying to keep it as simple as possible, but a squeeze of lemon would compliment beautifully.

Finally, mix the sauce through your cooked pasta, adding in your ladle of pasta water, and heat through. The end result is a deliciously creamy, spicy, and sweet pasta that is perfect to share with friends during the summer with a glass of wine, or mid-week when you want something tasty but just can’t think of what to cook! The ingredients are staples I always have in my kitchen, so this can be a perfect go-to pasta recipe.