Romanesco Pasta with Chickpeas

Summer is the season for peppers!  Bell peppers are always sweet and delicious raw in recipes but if you roast them they become even more flavorful!  In the recipe I am sharing with you today, I roast them along with tomatoes and garlic then blend it all together with almond butter to create a luscious creamy dairy free sauce.   I combine it with a gluten free lentil pasta and chickpeas for a hearty and delicious protein rich plant based dinner.  This is even better if you can get your hands on local veggies!

Author: Amy Lyons O’Neil

Amy has worked for Fresh and Natural Foods since 2006 contributing to the variety of healthful foods we offer. She graduated with a degree in studio art from Bethel University in 2007, but in her senior year of college, found that her passion was with the art of food. She later used her photography and culinary skills to create a vegan food and recipe blog, Fragrant Vanilla Cake. She has also written 3 cookbooks. She specializes in vegan and vegetarian recipes. Local, fresh and organic food has always been her focus in whatever she creates.

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Servings: 4 | Prep Time: 15 min. | Cook Time: 45 min. | Ready in: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• sea salt
• 8 oz Explore Asian lentil penne (or other gluten free pasta)
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/8 tsp ground chipotle powder
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned is fine, just drain them first)

Instructions

1. To make the vegetables, preheat the oven to 400F degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment.
2. Toss the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic with just enough olive oil to coat, and spread out on the sheet pan.  Place in the oven and roast until tender and starting to brown, about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven.   Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, while the veggies are roasting, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions, drain and place back in the pot off the burner.
4. Meanwhile, place the roasted veggies in the blender along with the almond butter, paprika, vinegar, 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste) and chipotle powder and blend until smooth.  Pour over the pasta in the pot, add the chickpeas and stir until well combined with a spoon.
5. Enjoy!