This gluten-free and vegan pasta dish is bursting with color and flavor! The basil sauce uses our cashew sauce base and the result is a delicious, creamy pasta that is a delicious main or side dish!
Squeeze the roasted cloves of garlic out of the head of garlic and into the blender. Add the cashew sauce, lemon juice, milk, and basil, along with about ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Blend until the sauce is creamy, then add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare your pasta according to package instructions. When the pasta is al dente, drain the pasta and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water, discarding the rest.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is very soft. Add the broccoli florets and saute until they just begin to become tender. Cut the ends off of a zucchini and use a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons across the length of the zucchini. Add the zucchini ribbons to the pan along with a pinch of salt and stir to encourage the zucchini to soften. Toss in the shredded kale and stir until wilted, then remove the pan from the heat.
Add the red pepper slices and drained pasta to the pan, then pour in the basil sauce. Toss to combine and add the reserved pasta water ¼ cup at a time until the sauce reaches the consistency of your liking. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
Finely chop the remaining basil and walnuts together on a cutting board. Sprinkle the basil and walnut mixture on top of the pasta and serve with more black pepper and fresh basil.
Notes
The amount of pasta water you’ll add will partially depend on the type of pasta you use. Pasta that has holes and holds more water like penne will need less water than something like spaghetti or farfalle.
I recommend adding a Lot of fresh black pepper to this dish. It will seem like overkill as you’re adding it, but will bring texture and flavor to the sauce.
I really recommend penne or rigatoni for this dish. I used a gluten-free rice pasta (Jovial) which I recommend over a chickpea or bean-based pasta. Regular wheat pasta would be fine too if you aren’t GF.