High Protein Cottage Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Cook the pasta

1. Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of well-salted water until al dente
2. Reserve a generous mug of pasta water before draining

Prep the peppers

1. Divide the drained and patted dry peppers roughly in half
2. Add one half to a blender with the cottage cheese and blitz until completely smooth
3. Roughly chop the remaining peppers and set aside

Build the base

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat
2. Add the garlic, fresh chilli, hot smoked paprika and dried oregano
3. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until really fragrant and the garlic is just starting to turn golden but making sure it doesn’t burn

Make the sauce

1. Pour the blended cottage cheese and pepper mixture into the pan and stir well to combine with the aromatics
2. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and the reserved chopped peppers
3. Simmer gently for 4-5 minutes until the sauce is hot, slightly thickened and smelling absolutely incredible
4. Stir through the nutritional yeast and season generously with salt and pepper

Combine

1. Add the drained pasta directly into the sauce
2. Toss vigorously to coat, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce is glossy and clings to every ridge

Serve

1. Divide between bowls
2. Finish with fresh basil, an extra hit of nutritional yeast and a good pinch of chilli flakes