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Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

A creamy, sweet red pepper sauce blended to smooth perfection served over your favorite pasta and topped with grilled chicken.
Course Main Dish - Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Author Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces pasta - campanelle rigatoni, radiatore are all great choices here - but use your fave short pasta!
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 large onion diced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 roasted red bell peppers* or 1 jar 15.5 Ounces roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 1-1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup parmesan shavings + more for serving**
  • fresh parsley finely chopped (use dried in a pinch)
  • fresh basil thinly sliced (use dried in a pinch)
  • grilled chicken diced into bite-sized pieces
  • Italian dressing for marinating chicken if desired

Instructions

  1. Marinate chicken for 1-8 hours, if desired. Grill chicken until cooked all the way through and set aside.
  2. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until starting to soften. Add the chopped red peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot.
  4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Carefully transfer the contents of the skillet to a food processor or blender. Place on the lid and puree the pepper mixture until totally blended (there will still be some texture to the peppers.)
  5. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil back to the skillet over medium heat. Pour the pepper puree back into the skillet. "Rinse" blender with chicken broth and add to pepper puree in skillet. Add salt and pepper, and stir until heated. Splash in the cream and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
  6. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Add Parmesan and parsley/basil, then stir it together to coat the pasta.
  7. Serve immediately in bowls with extra Parmesan shavings and top with grilled chicken.

Recipe Notes

* Tutorial: How to Quickly Roast Peppers
**We like to shave the Parmesan block with a vegetable peeler to get nice, big shavings for serving