Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot (finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
3/4 cups veg broth

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 pinch red pepper flake 
1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

1 box pasta of your choice
Water for boiling

Optional:
Basil (chopped)
Chives (chopped)


Instructions
1. Roast red peppers. I like to roast over a flame on my gas stove. I let the pepper sit for a minute then rotate it until the entire pepper is cooked, charred, and a bit softer.

OR you can heat the oven to 500 degrees and roast red peppers on a baking sheet until charred. Roast for about 25-30 minutes. It’s easiest when you cover in foil or plastic wrap for 10 minutes to steam, then remove (peel away) charred skin, seeds, and stems. Chop and set aside.

(Start to boil water to get your pasta cooking.)

2. Next, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallot, garlic, and roasted red peppers in olive oil for about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Transfer sautéed shallot, garlic & peppers into a blender with vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, red pepper flake, cornstarch & salt.

4. Blend until creamy and smooth, you may need to use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt or nutritional yeast for flavor.

5. Pour the blended sauce back into the skillet over medium heat to thicken. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and continue simmering until thickened to desired consistency.

6. Pasta should be done by now, so drain but don’t rinse it. When you don’t rinse the pasta the starches can hold on to the sauce better.

7. Add sauce to pasta and serve with vegan parmesan and fresh chopped basil or chives.

Makes about 4 servings.