Silky Roasted Bell Pepper Pasta w Zucchini Ribbons

Name: Silky Roasted Bell Pepper Pasta w Zucchini Ribbons
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients: Silky Red Pepper Sauce:; 12 ounces silky, soft tofu*; 2 roasted red bell pepper, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon olive oil; ¼ cup nutritional yeast; ¾ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 pound uncooked spaghetti or fettuccine; 4 medium zucchini**; 1 cup basil, sliced into thin strips

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

15 min

Servings

4-6

Silky Roasted Bell Pepper Pasta with Zucchini Ribbons

from Bad Manners: Eat Like You Give a Fuck

Zucchini noodles are a tough sale, even for us. Most people will just dump a jar of sauce on top of them and call it 'healthy spaghetti'. Restaurants somehow charge extra for them, even though zucchini is cheap as hell during summer. This is a stupid combination of health and hype that we personally can't stand. So we fixed that by creating this dish, which is now one of our favorite summer staples. We like it that shit spicy like the season but the heat level is up to you.

Ingredients

Silky Red Pepper Sauce:

12 ounces silky, soft tofu*

2 roasted red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup nutritional yeast

¾ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 pound uncooked spaghetti or fettuccine

4 medium zucchini**

1 cup basil, sliced into thin strips

Directions

First let's make the sauce. Throw all that shit in a blender or a food processor and run on high until the sauce is smooth. We'll come back to this in a minute.

Now cook the pasta according to the package direction... or your pasta-cooking instincts. While that's cooking, slice the zucchini into thin matchsticks or use a spiralizer. Try to get the zucchini as close as you can to the size of the noodles so they can blend in when you mix those motherfuckers together. Don't spend all day trying to make this happen. Just aim for noodle twins and deal with wherever you end up. It's still gonna taste delicious.

When the pasta is done, drain it, and then add the blender of sauce to the now empty pot. Warm it up over a medium-low head and then stir in the drained noodles. Add the zucchini ribbons and mix it all up until everything is coated with sauce. The heat from the pasta and sauce should start to soften the zucchini just a little bit. Fold in the basil and then taste. Add more vinegar, salt, or red pepper flakes-whatever you feel like. Top with a basil leaf or two and serve right away.

* You want the kind in aseptic packaging. It'll usually be on the shelf near the soy sauce.

** Aim for zucchini 4-5 inches long, with the circumference of like a baby's arm. Is that a weird description? Maybe but you know what the fuck we mean right?

Pairs With...