Pea and Basil Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 (16oz bag) frozen peas, thawed, divided into ⅓ + ⅔
• 2 ½ cups Unsweetened Plain Cashewgurt^®
• Large handful of basil leaves, roughly torn. Reserve ⅓ for garnish
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• ⅔ cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound vegan pasta shells (I used Banza gluten-free chickpea pasta shells)
• 1 bunch of fresh spinach
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons chili flakes, Turkish or Syrian are fantastic if you can find them
• salt and pepper

Prep

To make the sauce, blend ⅓ of the peas, Cashewgurt^®, ⅔ of the basil, garlic cloves, and ⅔ cup of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the remaining peas, cooking for 1 minute, then using a slotted spoon or a “spider” strainer remove the peas and set aside. Now add the pasta and cook to the desired texture.

Meanwhile, sauté the spinach in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, set aside.

Wipe out the skillet and fry the pine nuts in chili flakes and smoked paprika in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
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Toss the pasta in the sauce, then add the spinach and peas. Garnish with the pine nuts in chili oil.

*Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi, Jerusalem