I have to give myself (and, of course, Ree Drummond aka the Pioneer Woman) a pat on the back for this pasta recipe. It’s AMAZING! I’ve been feeling less than inspired with cooking over the past few weeks, so I turned to some of my favorite food blogs for some new ideas and found The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Pasta With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. I took the easy route and used jarred roasted red peppers rather than roasting my own and added in a zucchini and some spicy turkey sausage, and voila, I had a delicious dinner on the table in 30 minutes. I’m already hungry thinking about the leftovers tonight.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta With Sausage and Zucchini
2014-07-31 07:44:22
Serves 4
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 small zucchini, chopped
- 12 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained
- 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 12 oz. dried pasta (I like whole wheat penne)
- 3 links of lean spicy turkey sausage, sliced into thin rounds
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved or grated
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large sauté pan (you’ll use this pan again) over medium-high heat. Add the pine nuts to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally, until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them.
- Add the drained roasted red peppers, the pine nuts, and the basil and parsley to a food processor or blender, and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
- In the large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced sausage to the pan, and sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer cooked sausage to a bowl and set aside.
- If needed, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the sauté pan. Over medium-high heat, add the onion and zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and sauté for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium, and return the cooked sausage to the pan. Pour in the roasted red pepper puree, and stir together. Add in the heavy cream, and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta to the pan, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce.
- Top with Parmesan cheese, and serve.
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Seasoned to Impress https://seasonedtoimpress.com/
