Lauren's Latest » Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Alfredo

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Alfredo

Well, turns out I’m not a total flake! I got a recipe up! {It’s about TIME…}

Soooooo yeah. We’re talkin’ pasta today. Friggin’ awesome creamy goat cheesiness roasted red pepper alfredo goodness. Oh yeah. Come to mama. If you are a goat cheese hater, I will forgive you. If you are a roasted red pepper hater, I guess I’ll forgive you too. When these two little things get cooked and blended together, magic seriously happens. DEEEEE-LICIOUS magic.

PS- I’m a little obsessed with roasted red peppers. Ever since I made this a few months back, I cannot get enough roasted reds. Seriously on my list of top 5 foods I could not live without at this point in my life. Fo’sho’.

PPS- hahaha! Ok, scratch that first typed sentence! I have returned to flake status cause I just now remembered to draw a name for my Joy the Baker cookbook giveaway. BRB while I do that….

………5 minutes later……….

Random.org picked a winner!!

drum roll please……

Congratulations to entry #362, Theresa!! {Check your email, girl!}

HAHA……anyways, this stuff is easy, addicting and delicious. Seriously, one of the best things I’ve eaten all week! Mmmm….try it out tonight and see what you think!

Here’s how I made it:

Start out with 2 red peppers on a sheet tray. Stick these into a preheated 500 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

While those are cooking away, chop some onion

and garlic.

Saute these in some olive oil until tender, about 7 minutes or so.

Once the roasted red peppers are all charred and dark looking, take them out of the oven and cover with foil. You want these to cool because they are hotter than the sun at this point in time…

Now, back to the onions. Pour in some fat free half & half

along with some garlic and herb goat cheese. I got this at a grocery store called New Seasons Market. I just started shopping there recently and LOVE it. Basically, it’s like the Oregon equivalent of Whole Foods.

So, you just want to stir the cheese and half & half in together until the cheese is melted into the sauce. Keep this warm over low heat.

Now grate some parmesan cheese. Please find and use the good quality stuff. You’ll know it’s real by the rind. If the rind has parmigiano reggiano printed on the rind, then it’s good.

At this point, your red peppers should be all wrinkled. That should make it super easy to peel the skin off. Remove the stem and seeds too while you’re at it.

This is what they should look like when you’re done. Chop these babies up

and toss them into the sauce with all that cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Now comes the fun part. Grab an immersion blender and puree the peppers and onions together to create your alfredo sauce. Feel free to do this in a food processor too. I like mine sort of on the chunky side so I didn’t go buck wild with the blending.

Once you’re sauce is done, toss in some pasta and that’s it!

Hello gorgeous! I added extra cheese, salt, pepper and parsley to make it look purdy.

Don’t you want to dive right in? Yum yum yum times a million.

I didn’t bother with plates…

Hope you guys give this one a whirl! Dessert to come on Friday!

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Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Alfredo

Yield: 2 large, 4 small servings

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Total Time: 45 min

Ingredients:

2 whole red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free half & half
4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese
2/3 cup grated parigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup artichoke hearts (optional)
1/2 lb. linguine, cooked to al dente
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil 10 minutes.
In the mean time, saute onions and garlic in olive oil 7 minutes or until tender. Pour in half & half, goat cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to melt goat cheese into sauce and keep warm over low heat.
Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces and place into sauce along with parmesan cheese. Stir to melt cheese and remove from heat. Pour sauce into food processor and puree, or use an immersion blender. Place back into hot pan and toss with cooked pasta. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with more parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and parsley, if desired.

dinner