Project Description

We love to come up with our own creations best suited for our pasta shapes and wheat varieties, but sometimes you just need someone to tell you what you want. That’s why we were thrilled when we noticed that Half Baked Harvest’s pasta recipes are not only wholesome and delicious, but unique and chock full of seasonal inspiration. We couldn’t get enough – choosing just one was hard! This roasted red pepper pesto is simple and packed with flavor. We grabbed a jar of roasted red peppers at Trader Joe’s – easy enough!

Want to make your own roasted red peppers? There are a couple of ways to do it. Method 1: Cut peppers in half, lengthwise and place them cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Roast the peppers in a pre-heated 450ºF oven for about 25 minutes; or until the skins are completely wrinkled and the peppers are charred, rotating the sheet if necessary for them to cook evenly. Method 2: Turn your gas stovetop burner to medium heat and place red peppers on the grate over the open flame. As each side begins to char, give it a quarter turn. Continue until the entire pepper is charred.

In both methods, an easy way to remove the charred skin (unless you want to keep all of it), is to “sweat” the peppers by placing them in a paper bag, closed, for about 10 minutes. Remove and run under cool water while peeling the skin off. Voila!

Oh, and a little secret: You may want to double this recipe to keep extra in the fridge for sandwiches, polenta bowls, and more weeknight pasta. It’s that good!

Roasted Red Pepper Whole Wheat Pasta

From Half Baked Harvest.
Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers (about 2 roasted red peppers)
• 1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, oil drained and reserved
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup toasted almonds
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan plus extra for serving
• 1 pound short or long cut pasta (we used Community Grains Whole Grain Torchiette)
• 1 bunch fresh basil, roughly chopped
• Pepper
• Crushed red pepper, to taste

Cooking Instructions

1. Combine the roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, salt, nuts, and optional parmesan in a blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar and then pulse to combine until the sauce is mostly smooth.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain. Add the pasta right back to the hot pot along with the roasted red pepper sauce and about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Toss to combine. Thin the sauce as desired with more pasta cooking water.
3. Divide the pasta among plates or bowls and top with freshly cracked pepper, red pepper flakes, basil, and parmesan.