Spaghetti in a Roasted Pepper & Basil Sauce

If you’re like me, you love dinners that can be thrown together with minimal effort but taste like they’ve had hours of love put in. This is exactly what this dish is all about. Hearty spaghetti coated in a sweet and juicy pepper sauce, served with tangy anti-pasta & fresh herbs to dial up the flavour. It’s bursting with salty & savoury flavours, each mouthful a pure taste of Italy.

There is a little oil in this recipe, though it’s very minimal. I’ve used olive oil, which has been found to be the best all-rounder when it comes to taste & nutrition.

100% Plant-Based & Gluten-Free

Difficulty

Leftovers will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container in the fridge

Ingredients

Serves 4

For the oven

1 large courgette, quartered and sliced longways
3 peppers (use whatever colours you prefer, yellow and red will give you a sweeter flavour)
3 large tomatoes
1 tsp of olive oil
2 tbs dried oregano

The other ingredients

3 handfuls of fresh basil
250g brown rice spaghetti (this is the type I use, you can find it in most supermarkets!)
100g bag of fresh spinach
1/2 jar artichokes, we’ll be using a few tsp of the oil from the jar too
4 tbs of green olives
Pink Himalayan salt
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
Nutty Vegan Parmesan to top

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 oC.

Place your whole peppers, whole tomatoes and sliced courgettes on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil and 1/2 of the dried oregano. Roast them for around 30, until the skins of the peppers and tomatoes start to blister.

Deseed the peppers (pull out the stalk and most of the seeds will come with it) and peel off their skins along with the tomatoes. Pop both into a blender along with the fresh basil, a crack of black pepper and the rest of the oregano. Give them a quick blitz until smooth.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and then submerge your pasta. Cook on high heat for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta and return to the pot, with the heat on low.

To the pot add your blended pepper sauce, roasted courgettes, spinach, olives and artichokes (along with a few tsp of the oil from the jar). Stir the sauce and ingredients into the pasta and season to taste with salt & pepper.

Serve hot, topped with some vegan parmesan and enjoy!