Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pasta Recipe | Pasta Recipes

Pastas are perfect for weekend lunch or dinner and I usually make it for dinner as I find it easy to cook.As TH prefers mostly Pesto sauces with pasta or a simple one rather than the tomato or the white sauce, I usually end up preparing either Basil Pesto Pasta or Spinach Pesto Pasta or simple Aglio Olio or Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta or this Red Bell Pepper Sauce Pasta.

I love Bell peppers and especially the red colored bell peppers. I can eat them raw as well.I use the bell peppers often in my cooking in recipes like chutneys, dips, sauce, salad, stuffed bell peppers, rice varieties, curry, stir fry etc. Red bell peppers is very versatile and can be adapted even in Indian cooking.

Red Bell peppers has a mild sweet taste when roasted and it complements the pasta really well.I add a roasted tomato to balance the sweetness of pepper with the slight sourness from tomatoes.This Red Bell pepper sauce is really creamy and nutty with the addition of walnuts.I do not prefer to add cheese to my pastas and the addition of walnuts itself makes the pasta sauce creamy and delicious.

If you are interested check out other pasta varieties like Basil Pesto Pasta, Spinach Pesto Pasta, Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta , Pasta Salad and Macaroni in white sauce in my blog.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pasta Recipe:

Serves 2

Prep time:25 mins | Cooking time:20 mins | Total time:45 mins

Cuisine:Italian - International | Category: Pasta - Main Course

Ingredients:

2 cups Penne Pasta(or any other shape like fusili,sphagetti)

1 Onion,finely chopped

3-4 Garlic pods,finely chopped

1 tsp Mixed Herbs or Oregano

2 tbsp chopped Coriander or Parsley

1/2 tsp Red chili flakes

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese,to garnish

Salt to taste

for roasted Bell Pepper Sauce:

1 large Red Bell pepper

1 small Tomato

10-12 Walnuts

2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese(optional)

2-3 Garlic pods

2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil(EVOO)

1/2 tsp Black Pepper powder

Salt to taste

Method:

to prepare Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce :

• Wash and wipe the red bell pepper and tomato and apply oil all over it and roast them on open flame until they are charred completely by turning it to all sides.Alternatively you can roast it in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 40-45 mins.Drop the hot charred bell pepper and tomato into a vessel and cover it with a lid,this will ease the process of peeling the skin of charred pepper and tomato.Peel the skin off and chop them roughly.
• Grind roasted,peeled and chopped bell pepper,tomato with walnuts,parmesan cheese,extra virgin olive oil,garlic pods,black pepper powder and salt to a smooth puree.

to cook pasta:

Cook according to the instruction of your package or follow this procedure:

• Bring water to boil in a big pot (filled to its half) and add salt,1 tsp olive oil and pasta and cook over medium flame for 10-12 mins until al dente(cooked and tender to teeth).You can cook it further for 2-3 mins more to get soft pasta,but definitely do not make it soggy.
• Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of water for later usage.you can even give a cold bath to the pasta by running it under fresh tap water which helps in keeping the pasta separate.

to prepare roasted bell pepper pasta:

• Heat olive oil in a wide bottomed pan and fry sliced garlic until slight brown and then add chopped onions and fry until they are pink and soft.
• Add the bell pepper pasta sauce and mix well.Add 4-5 tbsp of reserved pasta liquid if required add more to get a medium sauce consistency.
• Add cooked pasta and mix well until all the pasta is covered with the sauce and is warm.Now add red chili flakes,Italian herbs,chopped parsely,salt(remember we added salt in sauce as well,so add accordingly)and mix well.Season with more pepper if you want.
• Dish it out to the serving platter and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over it.Garnish with parsley.

Serve it hot or warm with Lime Soda or drink of your choice.

Notes:

• You can even add bechamel sauce or cream to the bell pepper sauce in the above recipe to give a nice creamy texture to the pasta.
• You can add more Parmesan cheese while preparing sauce in the above recipe to make pasta more cheesy.
• You can replace penne pasta with any of the pasta like spiral, fusili, spaghetti, macaroni , farfelle or any other pasta of your choice.
• You can add colored bell peppers, blanched broccoli, thinly sliced mushrooms, zucchini to the pasta
• For a Vegan version avoid parmesan cheese while making pesto,it tastes even delicious without cheese in it.
• Walnuts can be replaced with cashew nuts or almonds in the recipe.

Technorati Tags: pasta recipes, pasta for kids, penne pasta,r oasted red bell pepper pasta, pasta sauce variations, bell pepper pesto pasta, italian pasta recipes, internation vegetarian recipes