Penne and Broccoli in Doritos cream sauce, topped with Doritos spiced bread crumbs. Vegan

A quick Weeknight pasta. No store bought Doritos were used in this recipe. Just some spices and flavors together and voila! And why did I make this? Well, the big food corps, apart from putting in humongous amounts of money into creating shelf stable products with weird amounts of chemicals, they Also put the money into finding tastes and combinations that tickle your tastebuds, make you addicted to things and keep you coming back to the product! Now, since they have already figured out the tastes that work, we can just reproduce it the natural way and say ahhhh yummm! and not worry about the processed chemicals!

The Doritos Spice mix has since been featured on Oprah.com blog section and on TheKitchn's dedicated post!

Its been a long while since I munched on any highly processed chippi things. They just dont feel good in the tummy anymore. Disclaimer: It really has been a long time, since I tasted a Doritos chip :). So really. Just adjust the flavors to your taste, just in case my taste buds are off. I'd love to hear from a Doritos Connoisseur for adjustments!:) Also, you can change up the flavors to your preferred Doritos flavors. Add Daiya cheddar, yellow mustard powder, chili/black pepper, lemon zest/vinegar for the cheddar/lemony ranch/ spicy etc variations. And then once you find your fave spice combination, sprinkle it on Kale chips, Corn chips, cracker, burgers, nuts, quinoa or anything and everything!

This pasta is easily made glutenfree. In case you missed the previous post on Tiramisu cookies, here is the link!:)

For lots more Pasta/weeknight meal options check out the Collection here. Red bell pepper alfredo, Swiss Chard pesto, breaded Brussels Sprouts pasta and more!

Ingredients: Serves 1( coz a hungry hubbs ate it all in one go)

1.5-2 cups cooked Whole grain Penne or any pasto of choice

1.5 cups broccoli florets(blanched)

For the cream sauce:

1/3+ cup raw cashews, soaked in water for atleast half an hour

1/3 cup water

1+ teaspoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

few teaspoons evoo

Doritos Spice Mix: Gluten-free

1-1.5 Tablespoon nutritional Yeast

2 teaspoons dried onion flakes or 1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 to 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1+ teaspoons paprika(to taste/color)

a generous pinch of salt

a generous pinch Rock salt/Kala namak(optional, if using lemon juice for wet uses. Not optional for dry spice since it does help add the sour. you can try lemon zest instead)

You can add Daiya cheddar, yellow mustard powder, for cheddar, lemon zest, dried parsley for ranch, red chili/black pepper for the spicy variations.

Topping Crumbs:

Toasted Bread Crumbs or Toasted Oats and rice flakes, coarsely ground.(1.5-2 Tablespoons)

Method:

Mix the doritos spice mix or blend in grinder to get a well blended mix. Taste test and adjust.

Cook the Penne per instructions. Blanch the broccoli(cook 3-4 minutes in boiling water, then rinse in cold water).

Blend the soaked cashews with enough water to make a flowy cream.

Add lemon juice, salt to taste and half of the Doritos spice mix to the cashew cream.

You can just toss the pasta and broccoli and serve at this point. I usually like to heat everything a bit so the spice taste comes out more and cashew cream doesnt taste raw.

In a pan, add 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, heat on medium.

Add the broccoli and toss for a few seconds.

Add the pasta and the cashew cream. Mix well. Cover and let it start to bubble on low heat. (1-2 minutes).

Taste test and adjust spices and salt and take off heat.

Mix some of the Doritos spice with bread crumbs or crumbs of toasted Oats and rice flakes.

Sprinkle the crumbs on hot pasta right before serving!

An infographic about Why a Salad is more expensive than a big mac or meat in general. Makes you wonder, doesnt it.

Also, Dr Vandana Shiva narrates this short video about how your backyard garden is a solution to so many current world problems.

This pasta is being shared at Allergy Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Hearth and soul blog hop, Ricki's Wellness, Weekend.

Picture inspired by Chinamyie's Spicy Tahini Broccoli penne