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this post is sponsored by Urtekram & Asennemedia
Hey from LA! It’s been almost two weeks since we took a long flight here in order to spend some time in the sunshine, see some friends, and just hang out together with our little family of three. As my husband took time off from work, I’ve been getting some much-needed alone time to exercise and work a bit. I just took a spin class at SoulCycle this morning (so hard and sweaty! but I’m hooked already) and now I’m sitting in a cafe sipping on an iced tea and finally having a little time to blog! I’ve really missed this and it feels so good to work on something of my own in between baby duty, everyday chores, and even family time. So let’s hang out and talk about pasta!
We make pasta all the time. It’s my husband’s absolute favorite food and I find it to be easy and quick to make, so it’s become one of our staple weeknight meals. I think pasta has a bit of a bad reputation and a lot of ‘healthy diets’ always advise on giving up on pasta or eating zucchini noodles instead. I get that and really like all the veggie- and bean-based pasta, but I still see pasta as a balanced meal even if you wanna be a healthy eater, as there are so many great ways you can make pasta! When it comes to gluten-free pasta, I’m a fan of brown rice pasta. It has texture, a bit of flavor, and a more wholesome vibe than corn pasta. I also like my pasta sauce-heavy so that I’m not eating just pasta, but a lot of other ingredients too. And I love my pasta creamy too. Creamy pasta is my absolute comfort food and creamy tomato sauce has been my favorite for years. But since we don’t use a lot of dairy, I’ve found other ways to make my pasta creamy: I either add some coconut milk to the sauce (like in this lentil bolognese), use a plant-based cream like oat cream, or add some soaked cashews to the sauce, blend it, and what comes up is a super creamy, oh so good, thick ‘n creamy sauce.
To get you on board with this cashew cream thing, I wanted to create a really simple recipe. These are the kind of foods that photos don’t do justice because trust me, this was one the best meals I’ve made in a while. It was so good that I found myself eating straight from the pan and literally could not stop. And the recipe is really easy, so you have a 100% chance of making a killer meal.
The pasta that I used here is an organic brown rice spaghetti from Urtekram (a staple in our kitchen), but you could definitely go with other forms of brown rice pasta, like fusilli or penne. The creamy tomato sauce is simply made with soaked cashews, Urtekram’s organic pasta sauce with basil, fresh basil, and a little salt and black pepper. You could just leave it at that but I also added some cherry tomatoes and baby spinach to make my pasta a bit more photogenic :) I really recommend checking out Urtekram’s products if you haven’t yet, as I’ve been using them for years and I love that the brand is 100% organic and 80% vegan.
I wish you enjoy the recipe as much as we do. Sending love and light ♡
Creamy Vegan Tomato Pasta
notes: if you feel like having more veggies, you could definitely add some zucchini or eggplant to the pan while frying the tomatoes. the pasta is really nice as it is, but I like to serve this with a green salad too.
serves 2 to 3
Creamy tomato sauce:
2/3 cup cashew nuts, preferably soaked
1 jar (350 g) Urtekram pasta sauce
a few basil leaves
salt & black pepper
250 g Urtekram gluten-free spagetti
250 g cherry tomatoes
a couple of handfuls baby spinach
olive oil
METHOD:
1. If possible, soak the cashew nuts in plenty of water for at least four hours. Rinse and drain.
2. Start by making the tomato sauce. Add the nuts, pasta sauce, fresh basil, and a pinch of salt and black pepper to a blender and blend until smooth. Add a bit of water if needed to make the sauce as smooth as possible. Taste and add spices if needed.
3. Boil the pasta and prep the rest of the ingredients in the meanwhile. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and rinse the spinach. Heat a large frying pan and add a couple of spoonfuls of oil to the pan. Sauté the cherry tomatoes on medium heat for a few minutes until they are nicely softened. Add the spinach to the pan and sauté for another minute or so.
4. Turn off the heat and add the pasta and the prepped tomato sauce to the pan. Mix all the ingredients together. Serve warm and enjoy!
I love how easy this pasta dish was to make! It took almost no time but had to delicious, homemade feel. 10/10