Creamy Hummus Pasta with Crispy Tofu
41g protein
Recipe by Nikoleta · @surovadcerka
Hummus is already an emulsion — chickpeas, tahini, oil and lemon blended smooth — which is exactly what a pasta sauce has to be. That's why 60 g of it does the job here with no roux, no soaked cashews and no blender. Loosened with soy cream and a splash of starchy pasta water, it turns silky instead of splitting.
Two steps carry the dish. The onions get a full eight minutes over medium heat, not two — that's where the sweetness comes from, and rushing them leaves the sauce flat. The vegetables get seared hard on one side only, so they keep their bite instead of steaming into the sauce.
Reserve the pasta water before draining. It's the difference between a sauce that coats and one that sits at the bottom of the bowl. Thirty minutes, two servings, 41 g of protein.
Ingredients
pasta
- 200 g firm tofu
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 200 g vegetables of choice (e.g. red bell pepper, zucchini, broccoli)
- 2 white onion
- 250 g pasta
- 2 cloves garlic
- 50 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 60 g hummus
- 100 g soy cooking cream
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 handful fresh basil
Contains: gluten, sesame, soy
How to make it
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions. Reserve about 100 ml of pasta cooking water before draining.
- Cut the tofu into cubes, season with salt and black pepper. In a pan over medium-high heat, fry in a half of rapeseed oil until golden on all sides, then set aside.
- In the same pan, briefly sear the vegetables over high heat on one side — they'll stay fresh but pick up a lovely sweetness. Set aside.
- Halve the onions and slice into thin strips. In the same pan with the remaining oil, cook over medium heat until golden, about 8 minutes.
- Add the crushed garlic, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and oregano to the onion. Sauté briefly until the garlic is fragrant, then stir in the hummus.
- Loosen the sauce with soy cream and a splash of pasta cooking water until silky and creamy. Season with salt, black pepper, and fresh lemon juice. Bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve topped with the crispy tofu and seared vegetables. Finish with a squeeze of lemon, lemon zest, and fresh basil.
