Raffaella's Pasta
Plan Ahead: Prepare the sauce ahead of time. Prepare the pasta ahead of time. Dinner in 5 min.
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 2 People
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper sliced in ½ inch strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper sliced in ½ inch strips
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1/2 Cup Water
- ½ square chicken bouillon cube or 2 teaspoons instant bouillon
- 1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 1 ½ cups white mushrooms thin
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste (buy it in a tube)
- 8 oz. (2 cups) penne pasta
- Coarse salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
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In a medium size saucepan over medium heat, sauté the peppers in 1 Tablespoon olive oil, water and chicken bouillon cube (or instant bouillon) until light brown and soft. About 30 min. Add more water as needed, ¼ cup at a time. Do not let the peppers go dry. (You don’t want to drown out the flavor of the peppers, that is why you only add a small amount of water at a time.) Cook down to about ⅛ cup water. Remove the peppers from the pan and put in a plastic bag for 10 min. to sweat. Peel off the skins. Discard.
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Put 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a separate small saucepan. Add ¼ cup water and 1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon. Add sliced mushrooms. Cook down for about 15 min. adding in more water as needed.
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Cook the pasta according to package directions. Set aside. Save some pasta water if needed later.
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Put the peeled peppers in a blender. Add cream and tomato paste. Blend until smooth. Stir in the mushrooms. If too thick, add in some pasta water. May re-heat on top of stove at this point when ready to serve. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Pour over warm penne pasta. Top with grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Serve with: Two Basic Salads page 258, Peasant White Bread page 237 or Steamed zucchini.
Variation: May add cooked Italian sausage. Use ground or rubbed sage.
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