Step 1 — Make the Cashew Cream Sauce
Once your cashews have finished soaking and are fully drained, add them to your blender along with the ½ cup of fresh filtered water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Blend on high speed until the sauce reaches a completely smooth, creamy consistency with no cashew texture remaining — this takes 1–2 minutes in a high-powered blender, or up to 3–4 minutes in a standard blender.
Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning. Want more tang? Add another teaspoon of lemon juice. Want more garlic? Add another clove. If the sauce is thicker than you'd like, add 1–2 tablespoons more water and blend again. Set the finished sauce aside until ready to use.
The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Having the sauce pre-made reduces the recipe's active cooking time to about 20 minutes flat.
Step 2 — Cook the Pasta
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just al dente — slightly firm at the center, not fully soft. Pasta that's al dente before combining with the sauce will finish cooking perfectly once tossed with the warm vegetables and sauce.
Before draining, scoop out 1 full cup of pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta and set aside while you finish the vegetables.
Step 3 — Sauté the Vegetables
While the pasta cooks, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced red onion, carrot matchsticks, sliced bell pepper, and broccoli florets. Sauté for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften but still retain some crispness.
Add the zucchini and cook for another 2–4 minutes until all the vegetables are tender but still have a slight bite. This sequential addition matters — zucchini cooks faster than carrots and broccoli. Adding everything simultaneously would leave you with mushy zucchini and undercooked carrots. The order keeps every vegetable at the right texture.
Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. The tomatoes soften just enough to release some of their juice into the pan, which becomes part of the sauce.
Step 4 — Combine and Finish
Add the cooked pasta directly to the skillet with the vegetables. Pour the cashew cream sauce over everything and toss to combine thoroughly. Add splashes of reserved pasta water — typically 2–4 tablespoons — and toss as you go until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency. More pasta water produces a lighter, more flowing sauce. Less keeps it thick and rich.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice as needed.
Step 5 — Serve
Divide into four bowls and top each with a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat and color. Serve alongside garlic crostini or garlic bread for the full experience. The crunch of the garlic bread against the creamy pasta is genuinely one of the great simple pleasures in Italian-American cooking.
