Serves 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 fat garlic cloves
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 punnet cherry tomatos, halved
1 tin cherry tomatos in juice
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 cup almond or oat milk (unsweetened)
Water for soaking
500 gr penne pasta
Chunky sea salt
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Fresh basil
Extra Virgin olive oil to drizzle over the top
Method:
Add cashew nuts and sunflower seeds to a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to soak for at least 10 minutes, the more the better.
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic and cook until fragrant and when garlic is golden, add chilli flakes and stir often to avoid burning, about 4-5 minutes.
Add halved cherry tomatoes, tinned cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and continue simmering for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Drain cashew nuts and sunflower seeds to the tomatoes along with nutritional yeast, cook for another 3-4 min and turn heat off; cool down a little and blend until smooth and creamy in a high speed blender with 1 cup of water or more if necessary.
Return to the same pot (no need to wash) and check seasoning.
Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions
Reserve 2 cups of pasta water and drain the pasta.
Add drained pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. It should be quite saucy and well coated. Add reserved pasta water a little at a time until the sauce becomes silky and creamy. Taste and season if needed. I like to serve it directly on the pot so I make sure to use a nice one. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, garnish with basil and serve.