Vegetable Rosé Pasta
Creamy vegetable rosé pasta is packed full of flavor, texture, and healthful ingredients.
It is a tasty, healthy twist on the common rosé sauce recipes that contain butter, oil, and/or heavy cream. This version of rosé is made with protein packed chickpeas and tahini (blended sesame seeds) to give it a nice, creamy texture.
This sauce idea was born during a pasta dinner night with my family. I decided to mix some hummus (made with chickpeas and tahini) with the tomato sauce in my bowl. I was super impressed! It tasted so good and gave me the inspiration to make a recipe out of it. Typically, I would use cashews for the creamy texture in a recipe, but I realize I use cashews a lot in my recipes. I wanted to take on the challenge of making something nut-free for those with nut allergies who are looking for healthy, plant-based recipes. Plus, who doesn’t love chickpeas! Protein and fiber packed, these beans add a nutritional punch to the sauce.
Serve this with cashew parm, if desired. To make a healthy, dairy-free parmesan. Combine, 1 cup of cashews, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder to a food processor. Pulse until fine like parmesan. Adjust the flavor, as desired by adding more nutritional yeast, garlic, or onion.
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 cups of tomato, diced
- 1½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 ¼ cups water, or more for thinning
- 1 (6-7 oz) jar (or BPA-free can) of no salt added tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons salt-free Italian spice blend
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste (optional)*
- 2 zucchini
- 4 cups of broccoli or cauliflower
- Greens of choice
- Whole grain or legume pasta
- Wash and prep the onion. Mince the onion, this can be done quickly using a food processor. If using food processor, chop the onion into wedges. Add the onion to the food processor and pulse until fine.
- Add the onion and garlic to a large skillet or pot with 1-2 tablespoons of water, and sauté until the onions start to soften. Add about 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed to keep the veggies from sticking.
- Wash and dice the tomatoes, add to the pan to cook.
- In a high speed blender or food processor, combine the chickpeas, tahini, 2 cups of water, and tomato paste. Blend until smooth. Pour the chickpea mixture into the pan.
- Add the Italian seasoning, fennel, black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often to keep from sticking. When bubbles start to form on the top of the sauce, it will be boiling. Reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Stir often to keep the sauce from burning.
- In a small bowl, combine the miso paste with ¼ cup of water. Stir until the miso is well combined. Pour the miso paste into the sauce and stir. Add more water as needed to the sauce to thin it out to desired consistency.
- Wash and chop the zucchini, broccoli, and greens. Sauté the zucchini and broccoli in about 2-3 tablespoons of water. Once the veggies start to soften, add in the greens and allow them to wilt down.
- Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package.
- Either combine the veggies, pasta and sauce in one pot* or serve them separately, allowing people to add veggies, pasta, and sauce to their individual bowls. Serves about 4-6 people.
- The miso paste is a healthier replacement for salt, but it’s totally optional.
- Some brands of legume pasta disintegrates and loses their shape fairly easily, especially when over stirred or added to sauces. So you may want to avoid combining everything until serving.
