Plant-based pasta dishes are a lifesaver on weekdays, especially when it's a tasty, creamy, appetizing dish of pappardelle pasta tossed with a fiery tomato chipotle sauce and mellowed with sweet basil. Vegan, soy-free recipe, can be gluten-free.
It's Christmas Eve and the neighborhood is looking really pretty. Yards are draped with multicolored lights and inside windows you can catch glimpses of ornamented Christmas trees. It's all quite picture-perfect except at the malls, I'm sure, where it's a mad rush and you won't catch me within a mile of those during this season (or most times, for that matter).
I was planning to post some more cookie recipes for you last week, but my oven went on the fritz and will remain quite useless until next week when the repair service arrives. Everything works a little slower around the holidays, but how could anyone be mad about that?
It's probably a good thing too, because I had been on a bit of a sugar high these past few weeks with all that cake- and cookie-baking. Having to rely solely on my cooktop and my tiny toaster oven for all my cooking, I've gotten a little ahead of myself and started coming up with healthy recipes in anticipation of that inevitable New Year resolution: weight loss.
You know I like to cook healthy most times, but I am not one of those people who can stomach bland albeit wholesome food. I love food, and I like it to be delicious: a luxurious treat for my tastebuds. My Pappardelle Pasta with Roasted Tomato Chipotle Sauce proves food does not have to be high-calorie to be rich, nor dripping with grease to taste great.
I combined ingredients from two strong yet diverse cuisines for this recipe: Mexican and Italian. The Roasted Tomato Chipotle sauce is a Mexican classic, made -- as the name suggests-- with roasted tomatoes and chipotle chilies, and it is a spicy, versatile sauce you can serve with enchiladas, tacos, burritos, or even as a chip dip.
To adapt this sauce for pasta I stuck with the traditional recipe and then, at the very end, I added some cashew cream to mellow out the spicy sting. It was perfect. Keeping up with the roasted veggie theme and to balance the spice, I roasted a trio of sweet, multicolored bell peppers and added them to the pasta along with some sweet basil.
This is an easy and quick recipe, and the only time you need to make it is to roast the veggies and boil the pasta, but most of that does not require constant monitoring. There's also almost no added fat in here, except the ½ teaspoon olive oil in the recipe and some healthy fat from the cashews. But no one would ever be able to tell, because the flavors are so bold and rich.
I used Pappardelle, a broad ribbon that is one of my favorite pastas, but fettucini would also be great for this sauce.
A quick note about toaster ovens: I rarely use mine to make toast, and more often to roast, heat and brown foods-- stuff I don't need precise temperature control for, like I would for baking a bread or cake. It turns out to be more energy efficient too because toaster ovens are much smaller than regular ovens and heat up much faster.
I'll leave you with all of my best wishes for a lovely, lovely holiday and a very merry Christmas. May all be well with the world.
More vegan pasta recipes
- Vegan Pasta with Roasted Peppers
- Vegan Wild Mushroom Lasagna
- Vegan Lentil Orzo Bake with a Cheezy Crust
- The Best Vegan White Pasta Sauce. Ever.
- Vegan Pasta with Barbecue Sauce
- Easy Wholegrain Pasta with Vegan Spinach Pesto
Pappardelle Pasta in Roasted Tomato Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz pappardelle pasta (cooked al dente)
- 2 large tomatoes.
- 2 jalapeno peppers (use one or skip altogether if you want a milder sauce)
- ½ chipotle chili
- 5 cloves garlic , skins on
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup cashews , soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, then ground into a fine, very smooth paste.
- 10-12 leaves basil , torn
Instructions
- To roast the bell peppers, preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the peppers them in an oven-safe dish with deep sides (don't use a flat plate because some juices might run from the peppers).
- Place the peppers in the oven and let them roast, turning them occasionally, until the skin is evenly brown and charred.
- Cool the peppers and then peel off the skin and remove seeds. Cut into thin strips and set aside.
- For the sauce, heat a heavy skillet and then place the whole tomatoes on it. If your skillet is large enough, place the jalapenos and the garlic cloves with skins on in the skillet too. If not, roast these one at a time.
- Roast the tomatoes until the skin starts to char and brown spots appear. Turn them around and let them cook on all sides until the skin is fairly browned. Do the same for the jalepenos and the garlic.
- Remove everything to a plate. I like to roast the tomatoes further in an oven to intensify the sweetness. So cut the tomatoes in half and put them in an oven-safe dish, cut side up, and place in a 500-degree preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Once the tomatoes cool, place them in a blender along with the jalapeno peppers (deseed them if you are sensitive to heat) and the chipotle chili. Peel the garlic and add it to the blender too.
- Blend the tomatoes into a puree. You don't need to add more water-- there's enough liquid in the tomatoes to help you along.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the tomato-chipotle mixture to the skillet and cook until it is reduced to the consistency of tomato paste and has become darker, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the cashew cream and mix well.
- Add salt to taste. You can also add some ground black pepper for more flavor, but I find that there is already enough heat in the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta, basil, and strips of roasted bell peppers, toss and serve.
Chitra Vivek
Hi Vaishali,
Tried this recipe.. It was good (little spicy- Should have reduced on Chipotle). We all loved it. Thanks fo such a wonderful recipe.
Chitra
Vaishali
Thanks, Chitra. 🙂
Ameya
I love roasted tomatoes!! And I love Mexican-inspired pasta dishes, they make such a nice change from the usual Italian flavors. Great job. And happy early new year to you, Vaishali!!!
Vaishali
Hi Anonymous, I usually find pappardelle at any grocery store, like Whole Foods, Giant, or others in my neighborhood. If you can't find it, use fettucine instead -- it's more readily available. Happy holidays!
Rachana, Manasi, Priya, Thanks!
Priya
Super flavourful pasta,makes me hungry..
Manasi
Oh this looks soooooooooo tempting ! I love how creative u are with these Italian pasta dishes. I had never imagined onw without loads of cheese!
Merry Christmas Vishali 🙂
Rachana
Such a lovely, flavourful pasta. Bookmarked.
Vaishali
Merry Christmas, Gayatri! The sauce is very flavorful without the cashews but a bit spicy-- if your family likes hot and spicy food, you could leave out the cashews. Otherwise add a tiny bit of soymilk or almond milk or even a couple of tablespoons of blended silken tofu to take the spicy edge off.
Gayatri
Merry Xmas to your and your family Vaishali. I love pastas and yours looks like a must try recipe. Any idea what I can use instead of cashews? Sadly, ours has to be a heart-healthy household for reasons beyond our control.
Vaishali
Keen on food, thanks, and I hope you'll like it.
Foodfeud, thank you!
Anthony, thank you. And a very merry Christmas to you!
anthony stemke
While your baking skills are non pareil, your creative dishes like this one are wonderful as well.
I like the chipotle usage here with the cashews.
Thanks for posting this; good luck with your ice-box repair and all of you please have a Happy Christmas.
Anonymous
Hi Vishali,
I follow your blog regularly and enjoy cooking all the healthy items you post. I just have a doubt where do you get this broad pasta? Happy Holidays!!
foodfeud
This looks like an awesome bowl of comfort food...but healthier and more inspired. The chipotle idea is great.
Keen on Food
Yum this looks like a wonderful combination of ingredients, I've bookmarked it for our next Saturday's pasta day recipe, thank you!