Spicy Calabrian Style Whole Wheat Plant-Based Pasta Shells
This Spicy Calabrian Style Whole Wheat Pasta recipe gets it classic Italian flavor from small red cherry peppers. Whole wheat pasta shells add satisfying texture and healthy plant-based, vegan protein. Enjoy this for a quick and easy, oil-free weeknight dinner.
Servings: 4
Calories: 348kcal
Ingredients
- 4 servings whole wheat pasta shells
- 2 red cherry peppers or 1 small red chili pepper, seeded
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 pitted deglet noor dates
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
To make Spicy Calabrian-Style Cherry Pepper sauce:
- In a blender, combine the red cherry peppers, garlic, dates, tomato paste, cherry tomatoes, nutritional yeast, cannellini beans, salt, and 1 cup of water. Puree until creamy. Set aside until ready to use.
To make the Spicy Calabrian-Style Cherry Pepper pasta:
- Once your large pot of water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions, about 10 min, about a minute before done, or “al dente”. You want the pasta to still have some “bite”.
- While the pasta is boiling, saute the bell pepper in a wide pan over medium heat. When the pasta is done cooking, add 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the bell pepper. Add the reserved Calabrian pepper sauce to the pan.
- Drain the pasta. Add it to the pan with the bell pepper and sauce. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cook 1-2 minutes, until hot and bubbly. When the pasta is tender, turn off the heat.
- Taste to adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.