A quick recipe for roasted red pepper tagliatelle pasta

Consider this an upgrade to your basic marinara pasta dish, almost like Italian and Middle Eastern food had a beautiful baby. The red peppers give the sauce a vibrant orange colour and an even deeper roast-y flavour, while the tahini lends its signature creamy richness.and

Serves 4

Total time: 35 minutes

3 medium red peppers (see Note) 

1 tablespoon plus 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

120ml tinned full-fat coconut milk

120ml unsweetened almond milk

70g tahini 

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons yellow miso 

2 teaspoons paprika 

1 teaspoon sea salt 

340g dried tagliatelle pasta

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida 

10g chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for serving

Chilli oil, for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 220’C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.  Cook each pepper with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Set the whole peppers on the prepared baking tray and roast until each side is charred. 5-7 minutes per side. about 20 minutes total. Set aside until the peppers are cool enough to handle. Once cooled, slip off the charred skins and remove the seeds. 

In a high-powered blender, combine the roasted red peppers, coconut milk, almond milk, tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, mustard. miso, paprika and oil and blend until completely smooth. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

While the pasta cooks, in a large nonstick pan, heat the remaining one tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the bay leaves and asafoetida and cook, stirring, until the bay leaves are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the blended pepper sauce and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is warmed through and the flavours have combined, about 5 minutes. Fold in the chopped parsley.

Drain the pasta and add it directly to the sauce. Toss the pasta to coat it evenly. Remove the pan from the heat and top with more chopped parsley and a drizzle of chilli oil, if desired. Serve immediately. Store the leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days .

Note: You could also use 160g jarred roasted red peppers. Skip the roasting step and move 10 to the pureeing step.

Excerpted from JoyFull by Radhi-Devlukia Shetty (Thorsons, HarperCollins, ₹1199, Paperback)