Lucky for you, you’ve found yourself on a page with the secret to my new favourite sauce…all mixed up with the pasta that tells me ‘summer is on, baby’! This creamy vegan pasta could easily become a staple for those summery patio days.
Serve it up family style. Picture this… an outdoor picnic with a big bowl o’ pasta, a salad bowl packed with greens drizzled with this flavourful oil-free dressing, and a bowl of smokey vegan parm…now all that’s missing is funky tunes and fruity popsicles.
Caramelized onions give anything a deeper, sultry taste. Double or triple the caramelized onions I call for in this recipe, just so your fridge can be a good friend by having it on hand for your next savoury meal.
The BBQ’d veggies give this pasta a smokey flavour, and keep the house a little cooler than the oven would on a hot summery day.
And fresh sage… the ingredient that makes any dish seem more professional that it really is. Take a simple meal, sage it up, and voila: Top Chef material. Sage is so easy to grow outside or on a window sill (unlike basil, which somehow likes to wither away anytime I try to give it a good life…)
Benefits:
- Zucchini has a good dose of antioxidants to help prevent disease, vitamin C to boost your immunity and potassium to help balance electrolytes and blood pressure.
- Sage is commonly used for digestive issues, like bloating, gas, diarrhea and stomach pain. Plus, it’s fantastic for depression, memory loss and the prevention of Alzheimers
- Onions contain sulfur, which is needed for the synthesis of the antioxidant glutathione, plus it helps strengthen hair and nails.
- 1 package of brown rice pasta (or any other pasta with just 2 ingredients...like quinoa + water)
- 3-4 sweet onions, de-skinned, halved, then sliced in ⅛ inch pieces
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise
- 2 red peppers, de-stemmed, halved lengthwise
- 3 portobello mushrooms (crimini or white work, too)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Salt + Pepper
- Vegan sausage of choice (I used Gusta)
Sage Cream Sauce:- ½ cup cashews, pre-soaked overnight or for 10 minutes in hot water
- ½ cup fresh sage
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- ¾ cup caramelized onions, with a few tablespoons of the liquid
- Caramelize onions: heat large pot to medium, then add onions. Let brown a few minutes, then add ¼ cup water. Turn down the heat, add the garlic and let simmer for 30 minutes, lid on. Stir every 10 minutes or so to make sure they're not burning. If they're sticking just add a bit more water.
- Heat the BBQ to 400°F.
- Prep the veggies by adding the coconut oil to your hands and massaging the oil all over each piece of veg and place on the grill. Twist some salt and pepper on them, and let cook for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a dash of salt and pour in the pasta. Cook according to time on the package.
- Flip the BBQ'd veggies, and salt + pepper the other side. Let cook another 10 minutes.
- Throw the sausages on the BBQ. Cook for 8 minutes, rotating every couple of minutes.
- Strain the pasta and pour the pasta back into the pot.
- Make the sauce: add all sauce ingredients to your blender, and blend until smooth.
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This week was all about manipulating your genetics with diet!