Pepper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce
Packing a nice kick from chili and cayenne, this Pepper Pasta with Spicy Pumpkin Cashew Sauce is a filling and tasty vegetarian dinner.
As you know from my last post (and the statement above); in honor of it being National Pasta Month, The National Pasta Association and The Recipe Redux are hosting a Pasta Recipe Challenge for Recipe Redux members.
As pasta is something I don’t mess with too often – I figured I would take on the challenge and post one recipe to enter the contest and be done with it.
One and done – right?!
Or so I thought…
Last night, sauteed peppers and black beans were on the menu…simple and quick and easy as my daughter and I had a “dine and dash” kind of night – actually it was more like a “dash and dine and dash some more” kind of night!
But, then I spied some soaked cashews in the back of the fridge when I was getting the peppers out, and they bumped into some unused pumpkin on their way…and…that same hamster (who was responsible for that Chocolate Manicotti yesterday) started making my belly moan at the fact that dinner was only gonna be veggies and beans!
And then, as if my daughter and said hamster were on the same page, my daughter started mumbling something about being a growing child and veggies and beans needed carbs to keep her from starvation and it was her day of the week to eat some energy-boosting, brain-power-enhancing pasta and …blah…blah..blah…
So, I did what any other lactose-intolerant parent of a hungry (bordering on hangry) teen would do and made a sauce with the cashews and pumpkin to go with the peppers and beans; and my daughter suggested – maybe some leftover pasta (used for painting) could be added in too…
…and well…
…that is how this sauce happened…
…this sauce…
…this creamy dreamy sauce…
…I am at a loss for words…
The mix of soaked cashews and pumpkin and cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika had our taste-buds humming – and quietened that high maintenance hamster and mumbling teen in the process!
This sauce is slightly spicy – but more or less chili and cayenne can be used according to your preference. Mixed with the peppers and pasta and beans – my daughter suggested this was worth an entry into the contest too.
This dish -from start to finish- took less than 25 minutes, it is extremely budget friendly and perfect for an energy-draining night of “dash and dine and dash some more”!
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry pasta
- Olive oil
- 1 red onion -chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 green bell pepper -chopped
- 1 red bell pepper -chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper -chopped
- 1 cup black beans soaked and cooked or canned
- 1 cup pumpkin
- 1 cup soaked cashews Mine were in the fridge overnight
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon chili
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil and add pasta and cook for 10 minutes – or according to package directions
- Coat a pan with olive oil, and saute the chopped onion and garlic for about 10 minutes
- While the onions are sauteing, add the cashews and almond milk to a blender or food processor and whiz till creamy and set aside for a moment
- Add the peppers and black beans and stir well for about a minute
- Add the creamed cashews and pumpkin to the pan with the sauteed peppers and onions and garlic
- Add the pasta and all the spices, season to taste and sprinkle with chopped fresh peppers
Nutrition
I need to try this cashew sauce – sounds gorgeously creamy!
looks amazing, I love all the colors Shashi! Love your photography and your creative recipes always 🙂
Did I read that right? A cashew pumpkin sauce? My mind is blown. This meal looks so incredibly delicious…and easy, too. I’m not going to ask you to send me a batch of this because I just can’t wait that long. Plus, that darned mailman just keeps taking stuff…I couldn’t trust him to actually get this pepper pasta to me. This amazing meal is hamster and hangry teen approved…which means it gets an A+ in my book! 🙂
Thanks David! Yes you read it right -and it’s DAIRY FREE!!! Hey maybe I can give your wife some to bring back to you when she comes down to Atl? Pffft..who am I kidding, we’d break out the forks and finish it off then and there! :p
You and my wife will get along so well. Hahaha!
Pumpkin cashew sauce sounds like the best thing ever! Love that there’s a kick of spice too – it looks amazing! I could eat this for breakfast lunch and dinner so sign me up for the whole batch please 🙂
It looks so creamy and flavourful. Thanks for sharing, Shashi.
wow!cant resist.I am both pasta & pepper lover…can imagine the flavourful taste!
Wholesome and delicious! I’ll have to try cooking with cashew puree.
Cheers,
Rosa
Mmmm!!! I’ve always wanted to try a recipe that involved soaking cashews. This one sure does look like a winner. I mean it has pumpkin in it. Hello fall 🙂
I honestly wouldn’t even know there was pasta in that dish! Ha! I would be TRICKED and then I would take a bite and say OH NOOOO! Because I cannot eat pasta! ha!
So now I am obsessed with the idea of cashew sauce on my pasta! This looks so cream and delicious! Thank you hamster and teenaged daughter! Whatever it takes! Pinned
The sauce is amazing and I LOVE creating things from stuff I find in the refrigerator. Well done you!
That sauce!! It sounds utterly amazing! And slightly spicy?? Even better!! And budget-friendly is always always a plus!
Thanks so much Ashley! 🙂
This looks really tasty and full of flavour and I love how it has a little heat. Great that it’s a budget-friendly meal too! xx
Thanks so much Charlie – the heat really makes it pop!
Oh, Shashi! That sounds absolutely amazing! We have pasta night every Monday at our house but, sadly, I am the only pumpkin lover under my roof. I may need to make this just for me and let them fend for themselves. 🙂
Thanks so much Sashi – you actually don’t taste the pumpkin – the spices take care of that! 🙂
Oooh! Maybe I could be sneaky! (*mischievous grin*)
Wow that pasta dish looks just gorgeous and amazing, what colors! And very cool sauce!
Thanks so much Evelyne!
Your creativity in the kitchen always amazes me – that sauce is incredible sounding!!!
I hope that tonight is quite as jam packed for y’all!!
Tonight was much less jam packed – specially with leftovers of this to make dinner even easier! Thanks so much Kim – I so appreciate your sweet comment, my friend. Hope your hand is feeling better