Creamy Pasta with Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes

This great recipe happens to be vegan, but still has an immensely satisfying rich creaminess that would please even the hardiest dairy-lover. This is achieved by drizzling the olive oil in while the food processor is running, as well as by the nuts.

Creamy Pasta with Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes

Ingredients (for 3-4 portions): 

- 250 grams/1/2 lb dried pasta of your choice (or the equivalent in fresh pasta)
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 2 red bell peppers
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup nuts (almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts will work)
- 1/4 cup good quality olive oil, plus extra for roasting
- Salt and pepper
- Grated Parmesan (optional) 

Preparation:

1. Heat an oven to 200 C/400 F.  Slice tomatoes in half and place them round side down in a baking dish. Cut the peppers and remove the seeds and "ribs". place them, skin side up, in the same baking dish. Add the garlic cloves as well. Drizzle olive oil over all of the vegetables and lightly season with salt. Place the baking dish in the oven and roast the vegetables until the skin of the peppers is blackened and puffy. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2. Set a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

3. When the vegetables have cooled enough to touch, carefully remove the skins from the tomatoes and the peppers (it's okay if you can't get every last bit of skin off), and place them in a food processor. Peel the garlic cloves and add them as well.

4. Add the nuts into the food processor, and begin to process. Once the vegetables have begun to form a pasta, drizzle in the olive oil while the food processor is running. As you do this, you'll start to see the color become pinkish and creamy. Continue to run until you have a fairly smooth pasta (there may be a bit of chunkiness from the nuts left over. That's fine). Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

5. Cook the pasta according to instructions and drain. Return the pasta to the pot, add in the sauce, and toss together. Check seasoning. Serve warm, with a sprinkling of Parmesan (if desired).

Enjoy!