Creamy Italian Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce (Vegan)

Sometimes while I am chopping veggies or washing dishes, I grumble to myself about how I wish I was on a beach relaxing instead of dealing with the daily grind. We are all guilty of this. Lately I have been unable to do anything around the house because of a very bad allergic reaction on my hands. I have contact dermatitis and my doctor says I’m allergic to something I routinely touch. I am working on figuring out what it is, but my hands are so raw and sore and itchy and I can’t bend my fingers.  Even typing this is killing me. I have made one dinner in the last few weeks and done zero dishes. While this might sound like a nice break, its not. I would give anything just to have the ability to take care of my family and house without struggle. My husband made a massive pot of lentils and veggies and we ate it for every meal for a week! I keep reminding myself that once I get my hands back, I will never complain about any house work or cooking again!

And in the mean time, I thought I would share this super easy blender sauce that requires no chopping or sautéing. It was the one dinner I managed to make. I had my husband chop me up a spaghetti squash the night before, but it is just as good on any kind of pasta. Its good on Panini’s, omelets, and veggies. Its good on anything! Its creamy, packed with protein and nutrients, and completely vegan. I sautéed some mushrooms to add to the spaghetti squash and sauce and it was perfect. It also freezes wonderfully! I use nutritional yeast in this sauce to give it a savory and slightly cheesy flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand, its still good without it.

So whether or not your hands feel like they are on fire, we all need a break and this sauce is perfect for an easy and quick dinner.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 3/4 C. whole raw cashews, soaked in water for a few hours, then drained
• 1 C. water
• 1/2 C. marinated roasted bell peppers (from a jar), oil drained
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 TBSP. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 TBSP. tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 TBSP. nutritional yeast
• a pinch of crushed red pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Soak the cashews ahead of time for a couple hours. Use hot water if you have less time. If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, you can actually skip the soaking step and just throw them in dry. Drain the cashews and place them in the blender.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. It should be velvety smooth, so if it is still grainy, keep blending. It will take a few minutes. If you just can’t get it smooth, add a little more water and keep blending.

3. Taste and add more crushed red pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning as needed. Once it tastes just right, blend for a couple minutes more until the blender is warm to the touch. The friction from blending should warm up the sauce. If your blender does not have this feature, just warm it in a pan, stirring occasionally. Don’t over heat it or it will start to get thick and wrinkly. Just heat until its warm and serve right away.

4. Pour the sauce over pasta or spaghetti squash noodles. Serve with French bread and sautéed veggies of your choice (I like mushrooms!) Store left over sauce in an airtight container in fridge or freezer.

Recipe by Edible Experiments