Creamy Red Pepper Sauce
A sweet and spicy pasta dish with a combination of red pepper and tomato sauce.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 395kcal
Cost: $20
Equipment
- blender or food processor
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 red peppers
- 2 whole roasted red peppers in a jar
- 1 lb pasta
- 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes
- 10 basil leaves
- 4 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tbsp calabrian peppers or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°. Quarter peppers by slicing down the side of each one. Save one side of pepper for sauteing. Place the rest of the peppers on a baking pan with whole garlic cloves and season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Bring a large pan to medium heat. Add olive oil and wait until shimmering. Chop up the remaining side of the red pepper. Add the red pepper and shallots and saute for 5 minutes or until the shallot has softened. Then stir in the garlic and calabrian peppers and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the whole plum tomatoes and break them down using a wooden spoon. Stir in the basil and bring to a simmer.
- Add the roasted peppers to a blender along with the jarred red peppers. Squeeze the garlic out of the peels into the blender. Add chicken broth and 1 teaspoon of salt. Process the red peppers until smooth. Then remove the sauce from the heat, and pour it into the blender. Blend everything together until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, adding a ¼ cup of pasta water to help smooth out the sauce.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Add the pasta in and combine. Serve with parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Roasting fresh red peppers and using jarred roasted red peppers is done to improve the nutritional value of the meal and add flavor, respectively.
- Blending all of the sauce together makes it easier for the heavy cream to penetrate the sauce and make it extra creamy. Sometimes, if I'm being lazy, I skip that step and just pour the blended red peppers right into the tomato sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 643mg | Potassium: 514mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2660IU | Vitamin C: 93mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg
