Red Velvet Pasta

Red Velvet Pasta

Red Velvet Pasta is one of those recipes we genuinely get excited about every single time we make it. The deep, jewel-red sauce looks absolutely stunning in the bowl and tastes even better than it looks, rich and silky with bursts of sweet tomato and a proper garlicky depth. It's the kind of dinner that feels a bit fancy without being a faff, which is exactly our kind of cooking. We love making this one when we want to impress someone but also, honestly, just for ourselves on a Tuesday night. Trust us, once you've made it you'll be adding it to the regular rotation.

Cook: 30 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • High speed blender
  • Large frying pan with lid

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 500g cherry tomatoes
  • 150g silken tofu
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tbsp harissa paste
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 4 portions of dried pasta
  • fresh basil

Method

1

For the sauce

  • Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium to low heat. Crush the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, making sure that the garlic does not burn. Once golden, add the cherry tomatoes followed by a splash of water, and cover with a lid. Increase the heat to medium, and allow the tomatoes to cook for 15 minutes, removing the lid for the last 5 minutes. By this point the tomatoes should have burst. Allow to cool slightly
2

For the pasta

  • Cook the pasta as per instructions on the packet
3

Return to the sauce

  • Transfer the cooked tomatoes to a high speed blender, with the silken tofu, tomato puree, harissa, sugar, salt and pepper. Whizz until smooth and velvety. Taste and season with more sugar, salt and pepper if needed. Every sauce will taste different depending on your tomatoes!
4

Finish the pasta and serve

  • Once the pasta has cooked, drain and return to the pot. Pour the tomato sauce over the pasta and toss to coat. Set the pot over medium heat and allow the sauce to heat through
  • Once hot, serve immediately with a sprinkle of basil leaves

Tips & Variations

  • Don't rush the garlic: Keep the heat low and take your time here. Burnt garlic will make the whole sauce bitter and there's no coming back from it, so stay close and stir it gently.
  • Use the best tomatoes you can find: This sauce is simple, so the quality of your cherry tomatoes really matters. We love using a mix of red and yellow ones when they're in season for extra sweetness.
  • Save your pasta water: Before you drain the pasta, scoop out a mugful of the starchy cooking water. Adding a splash to the sauce at the end helps everything come together into something really saucy and glossy.

Why This Works

The trick here is patience with the tomatoes. Letting them cook low and slow until they properly burst gives you this naturally sweet, intensely flavoured base that no jar of sauce can touch. We find covering the pan for the first ten minutes then removing the lid is the move, it concentrates everything and gives the sauce that glossy, clingy texture that coats the pasta perfectly.