Roasted Pepper and Tomato Pasta

penne with roasted vegetables, cream cheese, and basil

Makes 6 servings · 598 kcal per serving

Ingredients

• 600 g penne
• 300 g red bell pepper
• 80 g garlic
• 150 g red onion
• 300 g cherry tomatoes
• 27 g olive oil
• 15 g salt
• 70 g cream cheese
• 150 g heavy cream
• 120 g water
• 10 g basil
• 2.3 g paprika
• 2.4 g onion powder
• 3.1 g garlic powder
• 0.5 g dried oregano
• 0.5 g red pepper flakes
• 0.5 g black pepper

Method

1. 1. Heat the oven to 400°F / 205°C. Halve and seed the peppers, cut the onion into wedges, and cut the tops off the garlic heads. The garlic weight excludes skins; roast the heads in their skins.
2. 2. Arrange the peppers, onion, garlic, and tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Coat with the olive oil and about three-fifths of the salt. Roast ~35 min, until the vegetables soften and the pepper skins blister.
3. 3. Toward the end of roasting, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta 2 min short of the package time for al dente. Reserve a mugful of cooking water before draining.
4. 4. Let the vegetables cool enough to handle. Peel the peppers (if the skins come off easily, if not it’s ok to leave them on) and squeeze the garlic from its skins. Blend the vegetables and their juices with the cream cheese, heavy cream, basil, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, remaining salt, and some of the pasta water if needed.
5. 5. Pour the sauce into a wide pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the drained pasta and toss over medium-low heat for 1–2 min, until al dente and coated. Add reserved cooking water a splash at a time if the sauce is too thick; keep it slightly loose, as it thickens on standing.
6. 6. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve immediately.

Notes

Use the full batch of sauce for 600 g dry pasta. The pasta amount is an adaptation; the source gives sauce quantities only. Vegetable weights and the olive oil drizzle are approximate conversions.

Source and attribution

Adapted from Finny Cooks on Facebook

Original source