Plant-Based One Pot Pasta
Hate doing dishes? Have a hard time keeping track of multiple components at once? Only have a few ingredients? One pot pasta is the answer!
This is a great meal for those of you who are feeling under the weather right now because it isn’t fussy, there is barely any clean-up (I mean, it’s one pot), and tomatoes and garlic are packed with immune-boosting nutrients. Eating well when the immune system is low is important because it can help decrease the duration and the severity of the illness.
Fueling the body with foods that are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals will give cells what they need to focus on fighting the illness. Tomatoes are full of antioxidants like Vitamin C. If you want to read more about antioxidants you should check out this post, it goes into more detail about how they help our bodies. Garlic is a well-known antimicrobial compound, helping the fight against bacteria and viruses, also feeding the good bacteria in our gut. A happy gut will increase immunity and if dealing with an illness, can lead to decreased length and severity.
*serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 pints cherry tomatoes, rinsed
2 heads garlic
1/4 cup +2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least hour, up to overnight
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 1/2 - 3 cups vegetable broth
1 package pasta of choice (375 grams or 13 ounces) *
Preheat oven t0 425 F. In a large dutch oven or oven-safe pot, stir together cherry tomatoes, olive oil, chilli flakes, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cut the ends off each whole garlic head and wrap each one separately in foil. Pour about 1 tsp olive oil over the cut side of each garlic head before wrapping completely. Place the wrapped garlic heads amongst the tomatoes and bake in oven uncovered for 1 hour.
While the tomatoes are baking, blend together the soaked cashews (discarding the soaking water), coconut milk, and 1/2 cup water in a high speed blender until smooth. Set aside.
After the tomatoes and garlic have baked for 1 hour, remove the pot from the oven and take the foil-wrapped heads of garlic out of the pot and open them up. They will be very hot and steamy, so let them cool for a couple minutes. When they have cooled enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic out of the garlic head into the pot with the roasted tomatoes. Using an immersion blender (or just a blender), puree the tomatoes and garlic together until smooth (alternatively, you can mash the tomatoes with the back of a spatula if you want a chunkier sauce).
Add the pasta, vegetable broth, and cashew cream to the pot and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on and cook for 15-30 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the pasta you chose. Check the pasta doneness every 5 minutes after 15 minutes of cooking to ensure you don’t overcook. You may need to add a bit more vegetable broth if the sauce is looking too thick, use your judgement.
When the pasta is al dente, taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to your liking. Serve with chili flakes and fresh or dried parsley. Enjoy!
*The pasta you choose can be whatever you prefer. Whole wheat, gluten-free, and regular pastas can all be used. Just note that you should choose a dried pasta, not fresh.
