Roasted Tomato And Red Pepper Cream Sauce
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
Roasting the Vegetables
- 2 red peppers
- 6 large ripe tomatoes
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- olive oil
Making the Sauce
- coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil
- 2 tablespoons diced yellow onion (1 cross slice on an onion)
- 1 teaspoon red crushed pepper
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- blended vegetables
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 2 tablespoon dried basil (fresh if you have it)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 pint heavy cream
Making the Pasta
- 1 large pot of water
- 1 box of penne
- 2 tablespoon salt
Instructions
Roasting the Vegetables
- Heat oven to 350 degree's.
- Wash and dry your vegetables. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the red peppers in half. Remove the seeds and white ribs and place them cut side up on lined cookie sheet.
- Slice the tomatoes in half, and place them cut side up on cookie sheet.
- Slice a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Taking the whole garlic bulb, cut the top off it so that each garlic clove is exposed.
- Place the garlic bulb in the center of the aluminum foil, and top with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle salt and ground pepper on top; and then wrap the garlic bulb up like a pouch with the aluminum foil. Place the pouch on the cookie sheet
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on the tomatoes and peppers.
- Then drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the tomatoes and peppers.
- Place in the oven to roast for 40 minutes. (Match the photo in the recipe above for doneness)
- Set up a blender.
- Once the vegetables are roasted, using tongs; place all the tomatoes and red peppers into the blender. (Pick them up gently; not to loose or squeeze out the natural juices.)
- Unwrap the foil pouch of the garlic. Using your tongs to help you squeeze out all the cloves into the blender. Toss the remaining whole garlic skin in the garbage after all the cloves come out.
- Blend on high until the vegetables are lump-free and you have a smooth sauce puree. (Careful removing the lid, as the steam will let off and you can burn yourself. Use a hand towel to help avoid this)
Making the Sauce
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil.
- Turn the flame on the burner to medium/low heat.
- Add the diced onions and the red crushed pepper to the pot. Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir it around to wake it up.
- Add the sauce puree from the blender to the pot and stir. Lower the flame a bit on the burner.
- Then add 1/2 cup of cold water to the blender vessel, turn the blender on to clean the inside of it of the remaining sauce puree. And put that mixture into the pot and stir.
- Thin the sauce puree out a little more by adding the remaining amount of cold water to the pot.
- The consistency of the sauce should be slightly thicker than a chicken soup.
- Next add the dried or fresh basil, salt, and ground black pepper.
- Cook and reduce the sauce down over simmer low heat stirring occasionally for at least 2 hrs. This will help develop the flavor of the tomatoes further.
- After the 2 hrs, add the sugar to the pot and stir. Taste the sauce for salt. If it needs more add it.
- Cook for another hour on simmer low heat stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce has reduced and thickened, add the pint of heavy cream.
- Stir until the cream is heated through. Do NOT let the cream come to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and let your pot of sauce rest as you start the process of boiling pasta.
Making the Pasta
- Fill a large pot with cold water. Place it on a burner with medium high heat and let the water come to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat on the burner to low. (This will help keep the water from bubbling over when you add the salt.) And the salt to the water.
- Add the pasta to the pot, the heat back up to medium, and boil until al-dente. (Follow the cooking time written on the box)
- Drain your pasta once cooked.
- Return your pasta to the pot and add some of the sauce to the pot. Stir until the pasta and the sauce are married together.
- Plate the pasta and top with more of the remaining sauce on top.
- Grate fresh Parmigiano Reggiano cheese over top and serve.