Raw Vegan Marinara Sauce with Yellow Squash Fettuccine

I love squash.  A lot of people underestimate it but it is versatile and soaks in flavours really well. I use Spaghetti Squash quite a bit, but I have not tried "pasta" with summer squash and looking at this, I will definitely have to. This is a wonderfully easy recipe Nida brings to us today that we can adapt to suit our taste buds. W.P 

Oh my gosh Summer is fully in season - even though we're getting all sorts of rain (??) lol but I'm seeing lots of my friends talk about their farmers market finds and goodies. One of my favorite parts of summer is the squash and zucchini and i absolutely adore squash and zucchini noodles! The marinara is something i've been wanting to try for a while because there is nothing like fresh basil and tomatoes.  If you can manage to get high quality olive oil, its well worth it in every scenario. The buttery, nutty taste of a pure olive oil really lends itself well to the sensational basil and tender tomatoes.

What you need:

2 yellow squash
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt

Sauce
6 Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes in olive oil & Italian herbs
2 tablespoons crushed walnuts
1 tablespoon garlic flavoured extra virgin olive oil (regular is fine too)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic)
1 teaspoon onion powder (or 1 tablespoon chopped red onion)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
10-15 fresh basil leaves
1 pitted date
A few sprinkles ground pepper
A few sprinkles Himalayan/sea salt

How to prepare:

1. To make the Pasta: Wash the yellow squash, then use a vegetable peeler to peel layers of the squash off. You may want to experiment peeling from different angles so the “pasta strips” come out smaller sized. Otherwise, you can simply peel it, then use a knife to slice down the centre so the pasta noodles are not too wide.
   
2. Let the squash sit in a large bowl and add 1/4 teaspoon salt, covering all parts of the noodle. This way, it will drain out the water. Let it sit for about 30 minutes or longer while you prepare the other ingredients.
   
3. To make the Marinara Sauce: Chop the Roma tomatoes in four or five pieces, and put them in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients. Don’t forget to crush the walnuts with your hands if they’re in big chunks, and wash the basil.
   
4. Once everything is in the blender, give it a few pulses until everything is very well chopped. Do not put this on a high powered blender like Vitamix, because you will end up with orange sauce.
   
5. Remove all the water released from the yellow squash pasta.

At this point, you can either eat it as it is, or do what I really love:

1. Put the pasta sauce and squash separately in a dehydrator or oven (with the lowest setting) for a few hours. This way, you get the cooked flavour. Once you can smell a really fragrant aroma, it’s ready to be eaten.
   
2. Once it’s ready for you, spoon the pasta onto a plate and top it with the sauce and garnish with basil.
   

H/T: Divine Healthy Food

Nida Kazmi
Twitter: @nida84