Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I still had my sweet red peppers leftover from my CSA box a couple of weeks ago and figured I had better do something with them before they got mushy and bad. The menu that week had a recipe for Pasta with Red Pepper Sauce. I took a look around and found a really good Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce by Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, so made that last night.

It was really good. I mean really, really good. I roasted up the peppers under the broiler of my oven, and also added some Italian Sausage to the pasta for my carnivore son. After sauteing the onions and garlic I added about 1/4 cup white wine and let it simmer for a bit before adding the pepper puree.

First I roasted the sweet red peppers under the broiler. Once they were charred up nicely, about 10 minutes or so, I placed them in a ziploc plastic bag for about 15-20 minutes to help get those skins off.  You might want to start getting your water boiling for your pasta. It doesn’t take long for the sauce to cook up once you get going.

Peel off the charred skins and bits. Slice off the top of the pepper and the then cut it in half lengthwise. Open it up and scrape out the seeds. These are sweet peppers so the seeds don’t do anything for the recipe except annoy you.  Chop up the peppers in bite size chunks.

Place the chopped peppers in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. I drizzled about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the mixture while it was pureeing to help make the sauce a bit more smooth.

Heat a medium size saute pan with olive oil. Add chopped onions and minced garlic and saute until nice and soft. Add about 1/4 cup white wine, or more if you really want to. Maybe take a sip for yourself. Heat until about half of the liquid is absorbed then add the red pepper puree.

 

Pour in the cream and mix thoroughly. Taste and add seasonings as needed.  A bit of salt and freshly cracked pepper. Add your cooked and drained pasta and cooked sausage; mix until the pasta is coated. Add a bit of pasta and sausage at a time so you have a nice balance of sauce to meat/pasta.  Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

3 whole Red Bell Peppers
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ cups Heavy Cream
1/4 cup white wine
Flat Leaf Parsley, Finely Minced
Fresh Parmesan, Shaved Or Grated
½ pounds (to 1 Pound) Pasta: Orecchiette, Penne, Fusilli, Etc.
1 lb Italian sausage links, cooked and sliced into bite size pieces

Roast red peppers, and then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Set aside. Puree peppers. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, and then stir together. Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.