Pasta is a comfort meal for me rather than a luxury. I stock my pantry with various pasta with different shapes and colors. Well when you cook pasta so often, you have to improvise. Ain’t it? Roasted red pepper pasta is one such lovely variation, the flavor and color of roasted pepper give the most gorgeous orange hues to your pasta.

For the roasted pepper sauce, I used cashews this time. However, I have tried making this with Almonds, coconut milk and it tastes amazing even with those. You just need it to be creamy so even fresh cream would do. Only if you are making a vegan version, then use any creamy milk of your choice.

I have roasted the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in my oven. However, you can also roast it directly on your gas stove but roasting it in the oven makes a lot of difference. In addition, the whole kitchen fills with this amazing aroma of roasted peppers, onion, and garlic that I always try roasting them in the oven.

PREPARATION TIME: 35 minutes
COOKING TIME: 15 minutes
SERVINGS: 2-3
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Medium

INGREDIENTS: 

  1. Pasta of choice – 1 cup
  2. Red bell pepper – 1
  3. Onion – 1, medium
  4. Garlic – 5 pods
  5. Basil leaves – 4-5 leaves
  6. Cashews – 10-12
  7. Red chilli flakes – 1 teaspoon
  8. Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
  9. Parmesan cheese – grated, optional
  10. Salt – to taste

UTENSILS/EQUIPMENT:

  1. Non-stick kadhai
  2. Baking Tray
  3. OTG
  4. Pan
  5. Colander  

RECIPE:

  1. Soak the cashews in hot water for about 30 minutes.
  2. Also, preheat the OTG at 180 degrees Celsius.
  3. Now wash the peppers and dry them with a kitchen towel.
  4. Line a bake-proof tray with aluminum foil.
  5. Dice the pepper into two halves and place it on the tray skin side up.
  6. Also, dice the onion into the half with their skin and place it on the tray.
  7. Place them into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes and at 200 degrees for another 10 minutes.
  8. Place the garlic pods with the peel on the tray after 15 minutes. If you place them from the beginning then they would burn.
  9. Add boiling water to a pan and add a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil.
  10. Add pasta to the boiling water and cover the pan with a lid. Keep this on low heat for about 12-15 minutes.
Boil_the_pasta
Boil the pasta

11. Drain the pasta in a colander and drizzle some olive oil on it. Keep aside.

Boiled_and_drained_pasta
Boiled Pasta

12. Now take the tray and peel the skin of the pepper, onion, and garlic.

Roasted_peppers_onion_garlic
Roasted peppers, onion, and garlic

13. Add the cashews and the water they were soaked in and grind them to a smooth paste.
14. Now add the roasted garlic, onion, and pepper to it with some salt.
15. Grind everything well. In a non-stick kadhai/wok, add the pepper paste. Cook for 4-5 minutes if the curry is runny.
16. Now add the boiled pasta, some chilli flakes, and dried herbs to it.
17. Add some cheese and basil leaves and serve hot.

Roasted_Red_Bell_Pepper_Pasta
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pasta

If you like such cheesy pasta, then do check out my Avocado Cashew Cream Spaghetti recipe and Spinach – Walnut Pesto recipe too.