Tahini doesn’t have to be used only as a spread in your sandwich, or a dip for fun snacks; it can also be used as a sauce for your pasta. And while we’re at it, let’s make this pasta vegan. If you’re not vegan, like me, you can have this recipe one day of the week as a weekly vegan day. This vegan pasta was so yummy and delicious.
Don’t be upsetti. Eat spaghetti!
Ingredients:
8 oz of spaghetti (1 box)
1 cup of tahini
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of thyme
5-6 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
1 cup of sweet peas
3 scallions
1 bell pepper
1/2 lemon
1 onion
Let’s get to it!!!
Start by cooking the pasta. In a large pot of water, dissolve one tablespoon of salt (I am using sea salt) and let it come to a boil. Cook the pasta al dente according to its package instructions. Reserve about one cup of the pasta water. In the meantime, get the tahini sauce ready.
In a blender, pour in the tahini, two cloves of garlic, the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and blend. It will form a paste; definitely less liquid than how the tahini was. Set it aside for later use. Slice the onion in julienne, to give the same long feel as the spaghetti. Dice the bell pepper. You could also cut the bell pepper in julienne, but I tend to prefer them diced. If you are using frozen sweet peas like I am, you have to thaw them out at room temperature, about 15 minutes before you start cooking. Mince the garlic. I am using a garlic crusher, which make this chore easy for me.
In a large pot, heat some oil (I am using coconut oil) on medium flame. Once the oil is hot, cook the onions until they become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. After that, add in the bell pepper, and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in the sweet peas and let them cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add in the spices (thyme, chili powder, black pepper, garlic) and let them cook for about a minute to kind of wake their flavors. Add in the tahini paste and use the reserved pasta water to thin it out. Taste the salt and add more if needed. I added two teaspoons of salt to mine.
Add in the pasta and mix it well in the tahini sauce. Let it cook in the sauce for about 4-5 minutes on a low flame. Add the chopped scallions, turn off the flame and mix them in. The residual heat will soften the scallions. No need to cook the scallions all the way through to keep their freshness.
Serve warm
Enjoy your food
Thank you for your time