Creamy vegan pasta
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 5 garlic cloves, 1 whole, 4 thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed
- 12 oz. rigatoni or other large tubular pasta
- 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp nooch
Steps
- Heat oil in a large pot. Add walnuts and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until nuts are deeply golden, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a small bowl and grate in whole garlic clove; set aside.
- Wipe out pot. Combine ΒΌ cup oil and remaining sliced garlic in pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until garlic is browned.
- Firmly crush rosemary in your hand to bruise; add to pot along with beans and stir to coat.
- Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are just beginning to take on colour, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions.
- When pasta is about 4 minutes away from being done, transfer 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to pot with beans.
- Using a wooden spoon, gently mash about three-quarters of beans into a creamy sauce.
- Using the sieve, transfer pasta to pot with beans and add 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and 2 Tbsp. oil; mix well to combine.
- Increase to bring to a simmer and cook, stirring gently with a heatproof rubber spatula, until sauce coats pasta, about 2 minutes.
- Finely grate in about one-quarter of zest from lemon, then squeeze in juice from lemon and add parsley and nooch; mix well to combine.