Pasta with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

We love pasta! Pasta is always a winner dinner, whether you are feeding a crowd or just have it for dinner on a weekday. The following recipe serves 6 people.

Ingredients:
5 - 6 walnuts (optional)
3 large red bell peppers
up to 1 pound penne pasta (I used eating right whole grain pasta - 13.25 oz)
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream or whole milk
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic finely minced
1 small onion finely chopped
couple of pinches of red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup spinach (optional)
1/2 cup peas (optional)
8 asparagus - woody ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (optional)
1/2 - 1 cup grated parmesan reggiano (depending on how much cheesy you want the dish)
shaved parmesan for garnish (optional)
salt

Method:
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the peppers on the baking sheet and char them under the broiler for 20 minutes turning 3 times in between, or until all the skin of pepper is charred. Place the peppers in a ziploc or place them in a bowl and cover them with plastic wrap and allow the peppers to steam for 5 to 10 minutes. This will loose the skin and it will be very easy to peel the skin. Skin the peppers, remove seeds, inner membrane (ribs), stem and keep the peppers aside.

Heat a small pan on medium and toast the walnuts. Puree the peppers, walnuts and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a blender or a mixer and keep the sauce aside. Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the pasta. When the water is boiling, add handful of salt (it is your only chance to season the pasta) and cook for about 8 - 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dante. Drain the water, mix in grated parmesam cheese and keep the pasta aside.

Meanwhile, heat another pot or skillet on medium, add olive oil, chopped onions and saute for 5 minutes or until the onion just begins to soften. Throw in the minced garlic and stir. Add the red bell pepper puree, crushed tomatoes. Cook the sauce for about 5 minutes and add cream, pepper, red pepper flakes, asparagus, peas, spinach and stir well on medium heat for another 2 - 3 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more salt if necessary. Finally add the pasta and stir well so that all the pasta is coated well with the sauce. Take the pasta into a serving bowl and shave parmesan on the top. Yum yum yum !!

Tips and More:

• You can use regular pasta if you want. But remember, by replacing regular pasta with whole grain pasta will give you more fiber, protien and you will get your serving of whole grains as well. Whole grain pasta taste nuttier than a regular pasta but tastes equally delicious.
• I used walnuts instead of pine nuts in this recipe. But if you have pine nuts at hand, use them and they would be perfect for this recipe. 2 tablespoons of pine nuts is what all you need.
• Kids would love this recipe. Its a great way to make them eat their vegetable. Add more vegetable like broccoli, carrots etc. for more veggies.
• I used broiler to char the red bell peppers. Although fired up grill or the open flame on your cook top are equally effective. What you are looking for is this

 

• Lining a baking sheet with aluminum foil will avoid cleaning process. However, charring the peppers on a grill or on a cook top will leave them a little messier.
• I used penne pasta because they will hold the sauce inside them along with coating the sauce. If you don't have penne in your pantry, then any kind of short pasta should do.