I love carbs. It's true. Particularly in the form of this Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Mushrooms situation happening below!
As a child I literally only ate pasta and grilled cheese until I was seriously 15 years old. If I kept it going, I probably would have turned into a noodle. At least that's what everyone used to tell me. I was almost impossible to take to dinner unless there was a simple pasta on the menu or a grilled cheese. Considering what I've turned into 15+ years later, this is really weird to me. I mean I am an equal opportunity eater nowadays, but like I said, that wasn't always the case.
Back when I was a little munchkin I would only eat pasta with a little olive oil or butter, lots of sautéed garlic and salt. Oh and it had to be doused with a decent amount of Parmesan cheese too. It was glorious. I was a happy child. And these days I still love pasta just as much, but clearly I've branched out a bit and taken things up a few notches. If you love this recipe and want to branch out even more, try my delightful Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta. Delish!
This most recent pasta creation has been a staple in my house. It's some freshly made pasta coated with the most delicious and easy sauce ever. It's made up of roasted red peppers, garlic, a touch of olive oil and red wine vinegar and then salt and pepper. It doesn't get much easier than that. Especially because all you have to do it throw it all into your blender or food processor and call it a day. It's brilliant. Bright. Flavorful. And I'm seriously obsessed.
I threw it in with some caramelized mushrooms and basil. The result - so freaking good. I wanted to eat the entire thing in one sitting. But I refrained, and instead hid it from my husband in the back of the fridge and ate it for lunch for like 4 days in a row. If you wanted to get extra jazzy, you could stir in some cheese like my all time fav Burrata or the classic Parmesan - but it really doesn't need it. The sauce has enough flavor to work on just about anything and you've totally got to make this. It's simple enough for a quick weeknight meal but also fun and gorgeous enough for a weekend dinner party too.
Red Pepper Pasta with Mushroom
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 10 ounces mushrooms any variety will work, cut into thin slices
- 6 ounces spinach optional
- 3 roasted red bell peppers (jarred is fine)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 10 ounces spaghetti
- Basil leaves
- Parmesan cheese freshly shredded or grated
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the mushrooms and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden brown and caramelized. If you're adding spinach, add the spinach and wilt it down. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the roasted red bell peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and vinegar. Blend for 1-2 minutes until the ingredients become smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add the sauce to the pan with the mushrooms and stir to combine.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions. Once the pasta is cooked, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the cooked pasta to the mushroom mixture and toss to combine. Add the reserved water if you need to thin out the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper if needed and serve and serve with freshly shredded parmesan cheese and basil leaves.
Delish! Very quick using jarred roasted red peppers. Used 8oz mushrooms as that was pkg size I had and 5 oz spinach - standard clamshell pkg
Very good flavor especially with fresh grill roasted peppers!
Just one question or comment, why 10 oz of pasta?
Seems like 8 oz would be easier it is half of a 16 oz package.
I tried to make 10 oz and too much slipped in (about 12 oz)
I guess I’ll adjust up the sauce next time..
I never leave comments on recipes, but this one deserves it. Can I just say I totally get why you didn't want to share this with your husband. It's THAT good. I've made it thrice in the last 2 weeks. Such an easy recipe that tastes amazing, you don't miss eating meat at all. Thank you for sharing this with everyone!!
This was such a great recipe! Definitely augments the normal tomato pasta sauce!
Just made this for tea and was very nice, would recommend. Very quick and easy to make and would make again
Could the spinach be blended without changing the flavor/texture? Just trying to think of a way to hide them so my picky 4 y/o will eat this!
ya!! would totally work
Ok so this looks like an amazing recipe.
we have an organic veg box delivered each week and this was what I had to play with..
I changed the bell peppers for Romano peppers which are sweeter and added two red chilli peppers .
I used a quarter of the olive oil just in the pesto.
this is the basis for an amazing dish.
Thank you so very much
John
Just made this and it’s amazing! Super easy, healthy, quick and freaking delicious. Has this been on the blog/Instagram lately because it should be. Awesome recipe!
I just made this tonight, rather unexpectedly, but it worked out I had all the ingredients on hand. Delicious! I appreciated such robust flavor and no meat but I can easily see how adding some sweet italian sausage would also be a welcomed addition. Every thing I have tried from you Gaby has been a winner. I don't think there is another food blog and recipe index anywhere as versatile and delicious. Thank you!
This is on tomorrows menu!
This looks so delish!!!
Looks like a winner!
This looks fabulous! I need a big plate of this asap!
My stomach is literally growling looking at this- it's just so tempting!!!