One of my favorite full meals is the easiest and healthiest Red Pepper Sauce with whole wheat Pasta and some oven roasted veggies like asparagus or broccoli or Brussels sprouts or all of it.
The original recipe calls for oven roasting of Red Peppers and then removing their skin. It also calls for lots of cream and cheese to make it a cheesy sauce.
But my short cut version where I stir fry red peppers, is as good as the original, probably because I like more texture in my sauce. And I add minimum amount of milk and cheese, thus letting the spicy crunchy flavor of red pepper take the lead. This recipe serves two.
Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients:
2 Red Peppers, diced 1 inch
1 Teaspoon of dry basil (if you have fresh basil in handy, its even more good. add two twigs of it)
3 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1/4 cup half and half (or whole milk)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (or more if you want it cheesy)
Black pepper, red chili flakes and salt to taste
Method:
Heat olive oil in a skillet.
Add coarsely chopped garlic and stir fry.
Once garlic turns light brown add in peppers.
Once red peppers gets soft, add in basil and stir fry for 30 seconds.
Now switch off the stove and grind this mixture, once cooled.
Return it to hot skillet and add in half n half (or milk), cheese, black pepper, red chili flakes and salt and cook on a low flame for about five minutes.
Your sauce is ready. You can add in the cooked pasta and it would be ready to serve.
Pasta:
Any pasta goes good, but my favorite is penne since it can hold more sauce and is hollow, thus not adding more volume and letting the sauce take a lead.
You can cook pasta as per the instructions on the box. But one thing to remember is, to bring very large amount of water to boil and then toss in the pasta, that way it doesn't stick onto one another. Another good thing is to purchase wheat pasta which retains its shape and not get mushy and is also good for your health. Once drained, add the pasta immediately to the sauce.
Oven Roasted Veggies:
Asparagus: Best way to remove the bottom hard part of the asparagus is to bend the bottom of the spear until it snaps. Discard the bottom and use the top part.
Brussels Sprouts: Remove the top most layer and cut it into halves
Broccoli: Cut it as required. Do not discard the stem part of it, since its as tasty as the florets part.
Bring the oven to broil. Smear veggies with some olive oil, salt, black pepper and crushed garlic (McCormick Barbecue seasoning is also great instead of black pepper and garlic).
Spread veggies on an aluminium foil and cook for about 15 mins turning veggies once in a while to ensure that it does not get burnt.
Tips: You can also roast some coarsely chopped garlic in the oven while roasting veggies and add it to the pasta sauce. It gives a great crunchy taste.
Variation: If you toss in some fresh home made diced paneer to the sauce you'd get a great curry dish for your rice or chapatis.
An interesting fact: Red peppers are bursting with antioxidants, and one small red, yellow or orange pepper provides three times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C - way ahead then what's found in citrus fruits like oranges. ( Source: http://www.gayot.com/lifestyle/health/features/bell-pepper-health-benefits.html )
The original recipe calls for oven roasting of Red Peppers and then removing their skin. It also calls for lots of cream and cheese to make it a cheesy sauce.
But my short cut version where I stir fry red peppers, is as good as the original, probably because I like more texture in my sauce. And I add minimum amount of milk and cheese, thus letting the spicy crunchy flavor of red pepper take the lead. This recipe serves two.
Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients:
2 Red Peppers, diced 1 inch
1 Teaspoon of dry basil (if you have fresh basil in handy, its even more good. add two twigs of it)
3 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1/4 cup half and half (or whole milk)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (or more if you want it cheesy)
Black pepper, red chili flakes and salt to taste
Method:
Heat olive oil in a skillet.
Add coarsely chopped garlic and stir fry.
Once garlic turns light brown add in peppers.
Once red peppers gets soft, add in basil and stir fry for 30 seconds.
Now switch off the stove and grind this mixture, once cooled.
Return it to hot skillet and add in half n half (or milk), cheese, black pepper, red chili flakes and salt and cook on a low flame for about five minutes.
Your sauce is ready. You can add in the cooked pasta and it would be ready to serve.
Pasta:
Any pasta goes good, but my favorite is penne since it can hold more sauce and is hollow, thus not adding more volume and letting the sauce take a lead.
You can cook pasta as per the instructions on the box. But one thing to remember is, to bring very large amount of water to boil and then toss in the pasta, that way it doesn't stick onto one another. Another good thing is to purchase wheat pasta which retains its shape and not get mushy and is also good for your health. Once drained, add the pasta immediately to the sauce.
Oven Roasted Veggies:
Asparagus: Best way to remove the bottom hard part of the asparagus is to bend the bottom of the spear until it snaps. Discard the bottom and use the top part.
Brussels Sprouts: Remove the top most layer and cut it into halves
Broccoli: Cut it as required. Do not discard the stem part of it, since its as tasty as the florets part.
Bring the oven to broil. Smear veggies with some olive oil, salt, black pepper and crushed garlic (McCormick Barbecue seasoning is also great instead of black pepper and garlic).
Spread veggies on an aluminium foil and cook for about 15 mins turning veggies once in a while to ensure that it does not get burnt.
Tips: You can also roast some coarsely chopped garlic in the oven while roasting veggies and add it to the pasta sauce. It gives a great crunchy taste.
Variation: If you toss in some fresh home made diced paneer to the sauce you'd get a great curry dish for your rice or chapatis.
An interesting fact: Red peppers are bursting with antioxidants, and one small red, yellow or orange pepper provides three times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C - way ahead then what's found in citrus fruits like oranges. ( Source: http://www.gayot.com/lifestyle/health/features/bell-pepper-health-benefits.html )
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