Roasted tomato and pepper, creamy butter bean pastaaa 🍅🍝

My little one loves pasta, as does my boyfriend, and it’s an ongoing request for creamy pasta dishes in our house! But I’m also really keen to balance them out and ensure there’s a source of iron/protein and some veggies, also my little one is currently dairy free, so making ones without cheese and cream is crucial- you can make this recipe with Parmesan or nutritional yeast (or leave it out completely!). Butter beans are an epic source of protein, iron, calcium and fibre. This recipe uses jarred butter beans - which I think are extra creamy - but you can of course swap them out for canned beans!

YOU NEED

(Serves 2-3 adults and a baby/toddler, or 2 adults 2 babies/toddlers)

• 250g pasta of choice, fusilli works well, or rigatoni or malfada corta

• 2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped

• 200g plum cherry tomatoes

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 200g butterbeans (1/2 can/ jar), I’ve used @boldbeanco, plus extra to serve for adults and older toddlers (around 25g per adult)

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled

• The juice of ½ lemon

• 50g parmesan or nutritional yeast (optional)

• Optional finely chopped basil or parsley, and a handful of pine nuts for the adults

TO MAKE

Add the chopped peppers and whole tomatoes to a baking tray and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil and roast for 20-25 mins in an oven at 190 degrees (15 in an air-fryer) or until charred

Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water as per packet instructions.

Add the peppers and tomatoes to a blender with the garlic cloves- but don’t blend yet!

Drain the beans (but keep the bean stock) and add them to the blender with the lemon juice, parmesan/nutritional yeast (if using) and a generous grinding of ground black pepper and a small ladleful of the pasta water and blitz until smooth.

Add a splash of the bean stock or more pasta water to achieve a smooth consistency

Add the sauce to a pan and simmer for a few minutes on a low heat to warm it through, then add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. For older children you can add a few remaining beans to the sauce!

Serve topped with some finely chopped herbs - parsley or basil, a few pine nuts (for the adults) and some extra grated Parmesan if using

Tip: The sauce can be frozen and used later, double or triple and make a batch! It can also be offered as a puree to babies just starting out with weaning so they can be included in the meal too