Cacio e Pepe Veggie Spaghetti
Serves: 6
I created this delicious dish after reading a study that showed eating 7-8 servings of vegetables and fruits daily increases your happiness quotient! I used Spaghetti squash for the pasta, and lots of veggies I had on hand. Eating this meal will get you well on your way to being happy every day! You can use any vegetable you love in this dish.
I created this delicious dish after reading a study that showed eating 7-8 servings of vegetables and fruits daily increases your happiness quotient! I used Spaghetti squash for the pasta, and lots of veggies I had on hand. Eating this meal will get you well on your way to being happy every day! You can use any vegetable you love in this dish.
Ingredients
For the Vegetables:
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch medium thick asparagus, sliced on the bias
- 2 small red onions, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, cleaned, stem removed, and cut in half
- 1 zucchini, sliced in ¼ inch pieces
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves, peeled and minced (1 tablespoon)
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- (Feel free to add broccoli and cauliflower florets, thinly sliced carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.)
For the Cacio e Pepe sauce:
- 6 ounces (¾ cup) cashews, soaked in warm water for 1 hour
- 4 ounces water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground
- ½ teaspoon green peppercorns, coarsely ground
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400℉
Make the “Noodles” and Vegetables:
- Bake the spaghetti squash: using a large, sharp chef’s knife, slice ¼-inch off both ends of the squash. Place the squash vertically on a cutting board and slice in half, from top to bottom.. Scoop out the seeds and place the squash halves skin side up on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the skin is starting to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool to touch. With a fork, scrape the flesh from the squash into “pasta” strands and discard the skin. Reserve in a large bowl.
- Prepare all of the vegetables and place in a large bowl. Add the minced garlic and rub all over the vegetables. Add lemon zest and juice and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine and coat all the vegetables.
- Place vegetables on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Using a spatula, flip over the vegetables and bake for another 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Remove from the oven.
For the Cacio e Pepe Sauce:
- While the vegetables are roasting, strain the soaked cashews and place in a blender along with the water, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. Blend on high until very smooth, adding more lemon juice to taste, if needed.
- Pour into a medium sized bowl and add the coarsely ground black and green peppercorns, stirring to combine.
To Serve:
- Spoon the Cacio e Pepe sauce onto the spaghetti squash “pasta” and stir to completely coat the squash, adding more sauce as necessary.
- Place the squash “pasta” on a serving dish and arrange the cooked vegetables on top.
