Rasta pasta is a dish that originates from Jamaica. The colors in the dish - red, yellow, green - are a representation of Rastafarian culture. This vegan version uses all the best flavors of Jamaica without animal products.
Ingredients
- 14.5 oz (410 g) penne pasta
- 1 cup (235 ml) pasta water
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2¾ cups (200 g) sliced white mushrooms
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup (150 g) roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
- ½ cup (100 g) julienned yellow bell pepper
- ½ cup (100 g) julienned red bell pepper
- ½ cup (100 g) julienned green bell pepper
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) Jamaican Jerk Marinade
- 1¾ cups (415 ml) canned full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp (10 g) nutritional yeast
- 1½ tsp (1.5 g) fresh thyme leaves removed from the stems
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook it 1 minute less than the package instructions. Once ready, reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of the pasta water for later use. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Bring the heat of the skillet with the garlic down to medium heat. Add in the mushrooms and salt, then sauté them for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften and turn light brown in color. To the same pan, mix in the sun-dried tomatoes, the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar and all of the bell peppers and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the bell peppers turn slightly tender but still have a bit of crunch to them.
- Add the vegetable stock to the pan and mix in the Jamaican jerk marinade. Once the marinade is all mixed in, stir in the coconut milk and nutritional yeast. While stirring regularly, bring the mixture to a light boil. Add in the penne pasta to the pan mixture, along with a quarter of the reserved pasta water, and stir until all of the pasta is coated with the sauce. Turn off the heat, mix in the fresh thyme and add salt and black pepper to taste. Serve hot!
The remaining pasta water can be used to revive the liquid in the pasta if it has dried out from being left on the stove for a while when dining.