Rigatoni with Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups roasted red peppers

  (large jar, roughly chopped, with liquid, or pureed, or 4-6 roasted whole sweet peppers, peeled and seeded)
• 1 small onion, peeled & diced
• 2 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp tomato paste or concentrate
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ¾ tsp dried red pepper flakes

  (or to taste)
• ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
• ½ tsp dried garlic powder

  (optional)
• salt and pepper

  to taste
• ¾ cup heavy cream

  (pantry sub: canned table cream or evaporated milk)
• 1 lb rigatoni

  (or other short ridged pasta)
• salt (to taste, for water)

Instructions

• 1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (cover for faster results). Assemble
  all of your ingredients, dicing the onions and peeling & chopping the garlic.
• 2 In a medium saucepan, sweat the diced onions in the butter or olive oil over
  medium-high heat until they are translucent and beginning to color, stirring or
  shaking the pan frequently. Add the dried herbs, garlic powder, and red pepper
  flakes, along with a pinch of salt and some fresh black pepper.
• 3 Add the chopped garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the
  tomato paste and sugar and continue to stir and saute until they are combined.
• 4 Add the roasted peppers (or roasted pepper puree) to the pot. For a smooth,
  creamy sauce, puree all the ingredients (except the cream) together with an
  immersion blender (or by carefully transferring them to a regular blender and
  then back to the pot).
• 5 Simmer this sauce and let it reduce for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to
  combine. Stir regularly.
• 6 While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta for the time specified on the
  package.
• 7 Drain your pasta, reserving and setting aside about a cup of the pasta water. If
  you like, toss the drained pasta with a couple tablespoons of butter or olive
  oil. If you aren't serving the pasta immediately, this will help keep it from
  sticking, and also adds richness and flavor.
• 8 Add the cream to the sauce, stir, and then pour the cream sauce into your pasta.
  If needed, add a splash of the pasta cooking water as you mix the pasta together
  to get the sauce to coat the pasta evenly. You may not need the pasta water
  (Discard or refrigerate any unused pasta water)!
• 9 Plate and serve your pasta immediately. You can garnish your pasta with grated
  Parmesan cheese or fresh basil, or just a bit of freshly grated black pepper or
  some red pepper flakes, if you like.

Nutrition Info