Smooth Tomato and Cashew Pasta Sauce

Smooth Tomato and Cashew Pasta Sauce

I love blending cashew nuts into sauces and soups.  They give it a really creamy texture and taste and add protein, healthy fat and iron.  It’s a great way to get kids to eat nuts if they don’t like them or are too young to eat whole nuts.  In this sauce the cashews add a sweetness to balance out the tomatoes.  And it’s great for kids that only like smooth pasta sauces.  Best of all it’s made with store-cupboard ingredients so I can make it any time even when I don’t have fresh veggies.  This serves about four people, or two hungry adults and two kids, and can be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

Ingredients:

• 500g dried spaghetti (gluten free if required)
• 2 tins of plum tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 small handfuls of cashews
• 1 heaped tsp. dried thyme (or other herbs, whatever you have)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 1 heaped tbsp. nutritional yeast

How it’s made:

• Put the pasta on to cook according to packet instructions.
• Peel the garlic cloves.  Put the garlic, tins of tomatoes, cashews, and thyme in a blender and blend until smooth.  If your blender is not very powerful then you may need to soak the cashews first for a few hours.  The colour won’t look that appetising at this stage, but will be much nicer once it’s simmered for a few minutes.
• Pour the sauce into a saucepan over a medium-high heat and heat through until bubbling, stirring quite often.
• Lower the heat and simmer while the pasta is cooking, stirring occasionally.
• Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce.  Season to taste.  (I leave out the salt from kids’ portions and just add it for grown-ups.)
• Remove from the heat and stir through the nutritional yeast.
• Serve hot or warm.