Sunday’s Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Italian Sausage Pasta

When I saw this recipe, all of the words in the title appealed to me so I put Kevin’s recipe for Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Italian Sausage Pasta from his “Closet Cooking” blog on my try soon list.

Bev and I both like pasta so we have decided to try having it every Sunday beginning with this dish.  Kevin describes the dish as “Pasta in a tasty tomato and roasted sweet red pepper sauce with spicy Italian sausage, cream and plenty of parmesan!”  Since sausage and pasta come in pound packages and I wanted leftovers, I doubled everything to get the recipe below but the original recipe plus good pics can be found by clicking the above link.

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Italian Sausage Pasta

The Ingredients:

1 lb. of pasta (such as rigatoni)

29 ounce can tomatoes (see note)

6 roasted red peppers (Larry used 2, 16oz jars)

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed (Larry used 1.6 lbs)

1 med. onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoon oregano

2/3 cup heavy/whipping cream

2/3 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated

salt and pepper to taste

4 tablespoons basil, thinly sliced

Note: I did some fridge cleaning and used 1½ cups Roa’s Marinara, a cup of thick homemade tomato juice, and a 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, so I had a little more than called for to go with my extra sausage.

The Directions:

Start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.

Meanwhile, puree the tomatoes and roasted red peppers in a food processor and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sausage and onion and cook until cooked, breaking the sausage apart as it cooks, before draining any excess grease.

Add the garlic, fennel, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add S&P

Add the pureed tomatoes and roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, and oregano, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the cream and parmesan and mix well.  Adjust seasonings.

Mix in the cooked and drained pasta and basil and enjoy!

The Verdict:

It was delicious and will be made again.  My sauce amount was just right for the pasta amount.  My partially wilted basil leaves didn’t look to good on top.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/05/23 meal date