Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Just creamy, vegan, spiced tomato spaghetti

Having used hummus as a cheese alternative on grilled toast and in lasagna, it is perhaps not surprising that I recently added it to pasta sauce. It worked extremely well. Paired with tomato paste, red wine vinegar, various herbs and plenty of vegetables, it turned spaghetti from bland to exciting and was a very satisfying meal.


I confess that, of late, I have been buying hummus rather than making it. I know, I know! It's extremely easy to make, not to mention cheaper and open to customisation. Nevertheless, I sometimes buy it. A consequence of this is needing to use up the tub within the recommended date range. I'm very fond of hummus, but sometimes I struggle to get through it all as a spread or dip. Dishes like this are handy at such times.

Whilst I didn't use them here, I think sun dried tomatoes would provide a nice twist with this meal too. If you like sun dried tomato flavours, feel free to try out the addition (and let me know how it goes).


Just creamy, vegan, spiced tomato spaghetti
A delicious, easy mid-week meal
Serves 2
Vegan

Author: Bite-sized thoughts


Ingredients
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 green pepper, chopped
1 - 2 carrots, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
Few cracks black pepper
Approximately 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup hummus
Spaghetti to serve 2
Decent bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Method
Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Saute the peppers and carrots in the red wine vinegar, for approximately 10 minutes or until starting to soften. Reduce heat to low and add the tomato paste, onion powder, oregano, paprika and black pepper. Allow to cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for a further 10 minutes or longer if time permits.

Approximately 10 minutes before you plan to eat, add the cherry tomatoes and hummus to your sauce mix. 
Keep the sauce over low heat. In a separate pan, cook your spaghetti to al dente according to pack instructions (in most cases, around 8-10 minutes).

When the spaghetti is just cooked, combine it with your sauce mix and stir to combine. Serve topped with parsley.

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

What are you adding hummus to at the moment?

19 comments:

  1. Yum! As you know, this is my sort of dish! I think sun dried tomato would be a delicious addition too :)

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    1. Tell me how you find it if you try that twist!

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  2. I know what you mean - despite the fact that making hummus isn't really that hard, I always have a tub of the readymade stuff in the fridge. I'll now be using it for pasta now too! Ingenious!

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    1. I'm glad it's not just me who has the store tubs on hand :-)

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  3. We eat a lot of hommus and white bean dip in our family too, although not so much as a cheese substitute. Love your idea of adding it to a spaghetti! Yum!
    Thanks so much for sharing
    Julie
    Gourmet Getaways

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  4. Ooooh, this looks so good. I always buy my hommus - I found a low fat brand that I buy all the time, and I like it. I think this is a great way to use up hommus and must bear it in mind.

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    1. Thanks Cakelaw, I hope you like it if you try it.

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  5. I want to make hummus too but Sylvia will not eat it if I make it at home so sometimes I buy the huge tubs so we don't have to rush out to be more small tubs all the time. This spaghetti looks great and will be on my list of things to make. I have a question about the method - do you add the hummus when you put the spaghetti or or just before serving - I think the latter but not quite sure?

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    1. Fussy Sylvia! I actually added the hummus to the sauce mixture when I started cooking the spaghetti, so about 10 minutes before serving (the former rather than the latter in your query). Sorry that wasn't clear; I've tried to clarify in the recipe now. I'm sure you could do it the other way to though.

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  6. Ooh, I've never thought to put hummus in pasta! Mind blown! Sounds like it would be delicious too.

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  7. We still buy hummus sometimes too, it's just convenient and a local deli makes it in a way I never could.
    I haven't put it with pasta before - great idea!

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  8. I would never have thought of stirring hummus into a spaghetti dish, but why not? I often make a spag dish with canned chickpeas, so it would be on similar par. So liking this very much. Also, I too am guilty of now and again, picking up shop bought hummus, esp. when its enhanced with interesting flavours like Piri Piri!

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    1. I like your link with pasta with chickpeas - you're right, it's basically the same, just mushed up somewhat more!

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  9. I have never thought of using up hummus like this. Its a great idea Kari. I think it would be a good one for the bad eater in my house.

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  10. I rarely make my own hummus - I think it's ok to buy. Especially since the homemade variety goes bad so quickly. I can never eat it all in time.
    I have never thought of adding hummus to pasta. It sounds like a nice way to add protein and give it a good flavour & texture instead of cashew cheeze.
    Thanks for sharing this at Healthy Vegan Fridays! I'm pinning & sharing =) Have a great rest of the week Kari!

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  11. Great idea adding hummus to pasta; I'm jumping on the bandwagon!

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