Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Chicken

Here is my first recipe that we tried with things straight from my pantry or freezer. I had a jar of roasted red peppers and a box of pasta in my pantry. I had chicken breasts in my freezer and heavy whipping cream and parmesan cheese in my fridge. I found this recipe in cooking light (ours was not as light since we used heavy whipping cream instead of fat free half and half). But thats what the purge is all about right?

We did add the chicken to this dish, and it was delicious! I highly recommend it.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Chicken.

• 1 pound uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
• 2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• Thinly sliced fresh basil (optional)

Preparation

Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add bell peppers; cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar; cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.

Place bell pepper mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Return bell pepper mixture to pan; cook over low heat until warm. Combine half-and-half and tomato paste in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir tomato mixture into bell pepper mixture, stirring with a whisk until well combined. Stir in ground red pepper.

Combine pasta and bell pepper mixture in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup cheese, tossing to coat. Spoon 1 1/3 cups pasta into each of 6 bowls; top each with about 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese. Garnish with basil, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

424 (23% from fat)

Fat:

10.7g (sat 5.6g,mono 3.7g,poly 0.5g)

Protein:

17.6g

Carbohydrate:

62.9g

Fiber:

3g

Cholesterol:

32mg

Iron:

2.9mg

Sodium:

383mg

Calcium:

222mg