Bucatini with Creamy Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Harissa Sauce
This is not a typical pasta dish with roasted red bell pepper cream sauce. It's a fusion dish where Italian meets Middle Eastern. It's rich and hearty but also an elegant dish. It's savory, tangy, sweet, spicy, smoky, and creamy!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Inactive Time2 hourshrs
Total Time3 hourshrs40 minutesmins
Course: Entree, Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: Italian Inspired, Vegan, Middle Eastern Inspired
Servings: 4people
Author: Plant-Based Matters
Ingredients
Roasted Red Bell Peppers (skip this if using pre-made ones)
3-4red bell peppers
Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Harissa Cream Sauce
1/2cupraw unsalted cashews(better soaked in water for 2 hours)
3/4cup + 2 tbsphot water
1 1/2cupschopped roasted red bell peppers(about 3-4 freshly roasted red bell peppers)
1clovegarlicchopped
3tbspnutritional yeast
1 1/2tbspfresh lemon juice
3tspdried harissa seasoning
1tspsalt
1/4tspblack pepper
The rest
1poundbucatini
1/2-1tbspminced parsley(garnish)
Thinly sliced roasted bell peppers(optional garnish)
Instructions
**If using jarred roasted red bell peppers, skip to Step 5
Preheat a broiler at 525°F.
Place red bell peppers (whole) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes or so to get charred evenly.
Take them out and transfer to a large prep bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap (crack open the edge for the heat to escape) and let it steam for about 15-20 minutes.
Peel the skin and remove the seeds and core. It’s messy but they should come off easily. Be careful not to burn yourself! Chop them coarsely and set aside.
In a large pot, start boiling water for cooking bucatini.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a high-speed blender, combine soaked cashews, hot water, roasted bell peppers, garlic, nutritional yeast, fresh lemon juice, harissa powder, salt and black pepper. Process until smooth. Set aside.
Start cooking bucatini in salted water for 9-11 minutes (or follow the instruction on the package.) Use a colander to drain and transfer the bucatini back in the same pot (off the heat.)
Pour the red bell pepper sauce over the bucatini. Toss well until well coated.
Serve with a sprinkle of minced parsley as a garnish. Top it with a small amount of thinly sliced roasted bell peppers (optional.)
Notes
Skip to step 5 if using jarred (pre-made) roasted red bell pepper. This will shorten the cook time by about an hour.
Using a few strips of thinly sliced extra roasted red bell peppers as a garnish adds an extra flavor and also gives a nice presentation (optional.)