Luxurious Vegan Tomato-Basil Pasta

If you are wondering what to cook for your next dinner meal, stop it. I mean it. Stop, right now. This. Meal. Is. INCREDIBLE. I am begging each and every one of you to try it tonight!

You are going to be left wondering how in the world this pasta dish is so delectably creamy and cheesy without, well, any cream or cheese at all.

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I was too excited to eat this and didn't have time to take a proper picture, so please excuse the Iphone quality!

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I'm really enjoying experimenting with vegan dishes. My friend recently lent me the cookbook "Oh She Glows" by Angela Liddon, which is where I got this recipe from. It was my first time cooking with nutritional yeast, which is where the "cheesy" flavour comes from, and I cannot wait to try it again! You can find it in any natural food store/section in the grocery store or at bulk stores (I got mine at Bulk Barn).

The creamy sauce comes from raw cashews blended with almond milk. Make sure you give yourself enough time to soak the cashews before hand!

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I can't say enough about this meal. We had it just hours ago for dinner and I had the urge to share it with you all right away! Enjoy fellow foodies!

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INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup raw cashews

- 1/2 cup unsweetened, unflavoured almond milk

- 255 g (9 ounces) uncooked pasta, gluten-free if desired (I used a bit more than this)

- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

- one small onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes (or canned if desired, but drain juice)

- 142 g (5 ounces) baby spinach

- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

- 3 tablespoons tomato paste

- 1 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

- Place the cashews in a bowl and add enough water to cover. Soak the cashews for at least 2 hours, or overnight

-Drain and rinse the cashews

- Place them in a blender along with the almond milk and blend on the highest speed until smooth. Set aside

- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package, cooking till al dente

- In a large wok or fryng pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for roughly 7 minutes, until translucent and fragrant

- Add in garlic and cook for another 3 minutes

- Add tomatoes and spinach and continue cooking for 7 to 10 minutes over medium high heat, until the spinach is wilted

- Stir in the cashew cream, nutritional yeast, basil, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes more, until heated through

- Drain pasta and add it to pan. Stir to combine pasta with the sauce

- Season with S & P and serve immediately

#vegan #pasta