So last week I bought a huge pack of peppers, mainly because the 6 pack of wonky peppers was only 9p more more than the regular 3 pack… it would’ve been rude not to, but it meant I ended up with more than I needed! Avocados were also reduced in Tesco so obviously I bought as many as I could, only to realise I probably wouldn’t be able to consume them all before they go brown.. So in an attempt to use everything up before they went bad, I created this recipe. I also had a pack of mushrooms that I bought reduced a few days back, so also needed to use them up which is why I included them in the recipe… however they are not essential. You can omit them completely, or add in other veg if you wish. I served with a side of crispy kale and I can tell ya that it hit the SPOT! I went to bed a very happy gal.

Serving size: 4 bowls

Ingredients:

For the pasta:

• 2 large peppers
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1/2 large brown onion, or 1 medium, diced
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 large red chilli, chopped
• 1 large avocado, ripe
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 250g passata
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1 tbsp red chilli flakes (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 500g pasta of your choice (I used this)
• Chopped parsley & chilli flakes to garnish

For the mushrooms (optional) – SEE METHOD HERE

• 250g chestnut mushrooms (I used organic as I am trying to gear towards organic produce nowadays), sliced into 2-3 pieces
• 1 tsp chopped garlic (or more if you wish!)
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Method:

1. Roast the peppers for 30 minutes at 180c, until they begin to blacken
2. While peppers are roasting, chop the onions, garlic and chilli and sautee on a medium heat for 10 minutes, until onions become translucent
3. Remove from heat and set aside
4. Remove peppers from oven and wrap in foil for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, peel the skin off and remove seeds and stems from peppers
5. In a blender, combine the onion, garlic, chilli, roast peppers, avocado, lemon juice, passata, nutritional yeast, chilli flakes, salt & pepper and blend until a smooth sauce has formed, set aside
6. Cook pasta until al dente
7. Cook mushrooms according to this recipe
8. Combine the mushrooms, sauce and pasta in a large pan and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly
9. Sprinkle over some fresh parsley and dried chilli flakes, serve & enjoy!