Linguine with Roasted Garlic White Bean Cream Sauce

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2

Using a sharp knife, cut off the top of the head of garlic to expose the cloves and place on a piece of aluminum foil cut-side up. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and tightly wrap the aluminum foil around the garlic. Roast the garlic until soft and lightly golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. If looking to get ahead, the roasted garlic can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Step 3

While the garlic roasts, add the white kidney beans to a medium saucepan and pour over the broth. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a low boil. Cook until the beans are very soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the beans to cool slightly.

Step 4

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat and cook the linguine according to the package directions. Reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain and return the pasta to the pot.

Step 5

Using either a traditional blender or immersion blender, blitz the beans and broth until smooth. If using a regular blender, don’t forget to remove the vent cap and cover loosely with a towel before blitzing! Add in the nutritional yeast, lemon zest and juice and red pepper flakes, squeeze in the roasted garlic and blitz to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 6

Pour the sauce over the noodles, adding the reserved pasta cooking liquid about 1/4 cup at a time until the sauce reaches a creamy, saucy consistency that isn’t too thick. The trick here is to add a bit more of the pasta cooking liquid than you think you’ll need, as the starch in the beans and pasta will cause the sauce to tighten up once it’s plated. Stir in the sundried tomatoes and parsley and season to taste with salt, pepper and more nutritional yeast, if needed.