Friday, October 3, 2014

Red Pepper Pasta with Crumbled Feta

Red Pepper Pasta with Crumbled Feta -The Paper Mug.jpg

It’s weird how much I love red bell peppers so much, but loathe the green. They’re from the same plant! One is just on the plant longer than the other, but the result is  a completely different taste. I made up this recipe after eating an amazing pink sauce from a local italian restaurant. Though it’s nothing like that sauce in taste, it does have an alfredo base, which is where the idea stemmed from. This recipe is a favorite among my picky eaters (not to say that yours will love it, but there’s hope) so it has become a regular in our dinner rotation.

The red peppers can be roasted ahead of time to make preparation even easier. I roast, seed and peel mine, then freeze them and dethaw when I’m ready to use. I usually don’t measure my ingredients before making this pasta, so bear with me and adjust according to your preferences. You want to make a strong flavored alfredo sauce so it still has full flavor when blended with the peppers.

Ingredients
16 oz (1 pound) farfalle pasta (I sometimes use whole wheat pasta which adds a hint of nuttiness and another dimension to the flavor)
3 roasted red peppers
2 Tbs butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried basil
pepper to taste
Feta for sprinkling (if you’re not a fan of feta, you can use parmesan or mozzarella, but I highly recommend feta. The flavors compliment each other so well).

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2.  In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
3. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.
4. Pour in evaporated milk and let set until heated through.
5. Once the milk is heated, add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and let simmer until thickened.
6. While sauce is thickening, blend roasted red peppers and basil in a blender or food processor.
7. When sauce is done, pour into blender with roasted red peppers and blend again. Return to pan to heat through. Salt again to taste.
8. When pasta is done cooking, drain and mix with sauce. Spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle feta on top.

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