Roasted Red Pepper, Goat Cheese and Fennel Pasta
This creamy pasta is light on dairy and heavy on veggies, using just a small amount of goat cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. I used whole-wheat pasta but a brown rice pasta would work really nicely for a gluten-free option.
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole-wheat linguine cooked according to the package (feel free to substitute brown rice pasta for a gluten-free option)
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- 3 large red bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large fennel bulb chopped
- 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
- 6 ounces goat cheese
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes use 1/2 teaspoon if you like a spicier pasta
- Coarse salt to taste
- Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus more for garnish
- Fresh basil torn, for garnish
- Sea salt flakes for garnish (I used Maldon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, rotating the peppers a quarter turn every 5 minutes until charred. Remove the peppers from the oven and cover with foil for 10 minutes. Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop the peppers into large pieces.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions, garlic and chopped fennel bulb for 7-8 minutes or until tender.
- Add the sauteed onions, garlic and fennel to a food processor along with the chopped red peppers, vegetable stock, goat cheese and crushed red pepper flakes. Process for about 60 seconds on high until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the red pepper sauce back to the skillet and turn the heat to low. Add the cooked pasta, 1/4 cup pasta water and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to the skillet. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce coats pasta. Garnish with additional grated cheese, black pepper, fresh basil leaves and sea salt flakes.