Vegan red pepper pasta

Step 1

Put your pasta on to boil. Cook it for 1 minute less than you would normally.

Step 2

Put a small frying pan on a medium-high heat and dry roast pine nuts until browned and fragrant. Make sure you shake the pan regularly as they burn easily.

Step 3

While the pasta is cooking, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on a low-medium heat. Add finely diced garlic and chilli (if using fresh). Fry, stirring the whole time, on a low heat until garlic becomes soft and fragrant.

Step 4

Add a teaspoon of sambal oelek (skip if you added fresh chilli instead) and mix it around well. Add sliced red peppers and stir them around so that they warm up.

Step 5

Add drained pasta, baby spinach and olives. Stir around well so that the pasta gets coated in the pepper and garlic mixture. Allow the spinach to wilt in the hot pan and pasta to finish cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6

Divide the pasta between two bowls, dot with small amounts of vegan ricotta (if you are using a sturdier cheese, like vegan feta, you can mix it into the pasta directly before plating).

Step 7

Serve topped with toasted pine nuts, generous amount of fresh parsley, mild chilli flakes and nutritional yeast (if using).