This pink pepper pasta sauce is one in every of my favourite do-it-yourself recipes full of candy and smoky grilled piquillo peppers, onion, garlic, and herbs. Serve this straightforward pasta sauce tossed with fettuccine, spinach, and feta cheese for a fast, satisfying vegetarian dinner!
On occasion, I like to interrupt up a stint of meaty pasta sauces like my family-favorite do-it-yourself Bolognese and sluggish cooker spaghetti sauce with a contemporary and simple, vegetarian quantity. This pink pepper sauce with pasta by no means disappoints.
This recipe blends the flavors of Macedonia (actually) into one deliciously gentle and creamy pink pepper pasta sauce. It’s so easy. I take a jar of my favourite gentle piquillo peppers and blitz them with seasoned sautéed onions, garlic, and olive oil. The result’s a silky, flavor-packed sauce that I instantly toss with sautéed spinach, then feta, and at last, fettuccine pasta. HOLY MOLY. Let’s simply say, it’s a really silent dinner. Not as a result of we now have nothing to say, however as a result of nobody needs to come back up for air!
What Makes This Pink Pepper Pasta Sauce So Nice
- Contemporary Mediterranean flavors. This pink pepper sauce is creamy and garlicky, and somewhat smoky from candy however gentle jarred peppers. As soon as I wilted in some contemporary child spinach and sprinkled over salty feta, it instantly jogged my memory of Macedonia. From shakshuka to sausage and peppers and chopped salad, Macedonians are at all times discovering a solution to work peppers and feta right into a recipe!
- Prepared in beneath half-hour. My pink pepper pasta sauce has a super-quick 15-minute cooking time. With somewhat little bit of prep in and round that, the entire recipe takes about half-hour. It’s a straightforward meatless meal, good for weeknights.
- Versatile. This wealthy pink pepper pasta sauce tastes scrumptious on any pasta. I add spinach and feta to maintain issues vegetarian (it’s one in every of my favourite straightforward Meatless Monday meals). On different days, I’ll whip up a batch of air fryer meatballs to toss within the sauce when serving. It’s tremendous versatile!
Sauce Elements
These are the components you’ll must make this gentle, straightforward, and flavorful pink pepper sauce pasta. You’ll want to scroll right down to the recipe card after the publish for the complete record and printable recipe particulars.
- Pink Peppers – I really like making this sauce with grilled piquillo peppers, that are marinated pink peppers with a candy, smoky taste. I merely drain off the oil and mix them up.
- Olive Oil – Further virgin olive oil or one other high quality cooking oil.
- Yellow Onion – Or shallot, thinly sliced.
- Garlic – In pasta recipes, in my eyes, the extra contemporary garlic, the higher! Be at liberty to adapt the quantity of garlic to style. In the event you don’t have garlic cloves to mince, you’ll be able to substitute ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder per clove.
- Thyme – You should utilize dried or contemporary thyme you probably have it (you’ll must triple the quantity for those who’re utilizing contemporary). Different herbs like basil, oregano, and rosemary additionally go properly with this sauce, or you should utilize a mixture of herbs, like Italian seasoning.
For Serving
- Pasta – You should utilize any pasta you want. I really like serving this pink pepper pasta sauce over fettuccine. Different good choices are linguine, spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, fusilli, or bowtie pasta.
- Child Spinach – Contemporary or frozen child spinach is a good way so as to add greens. There’s no must thaw frozen spinach first, you’ll be able to sauté it as-is.
- Feta Cheese – Rounding out the Mediterranean-inspired flavors is creamy, crumbly feta. You can too end this pink pepper pasta with goat cheese or freshly grated parmesan.
Use Roasted Pink Peppers
If I’m making a batch of Macedonian ajvar (pink pepper relish), I’ll roast a double batch of contemporary pink peppers and use the leftovers for this pasta sauce! Professional tip: The ready relish additionally makes an incredible base for this sauce.
The right way to Make Pink Pepper Pasta Sauce
Like my spinach fettuccine and sun-dried tomato pasta, this pink pepper sauce is a speedy vegetarian recipe with little or no hands-on time. For now, set the drained piquillo peppers apart within the blender. In the meantime, get your alternative of pasta boiling in response to the bundle instructions and comply with these steps to make your sauce:
- Sauté the onions. In a skillet, season the onions and garlic with thyme, salt, and pepper, and sauté in olive oil till softened.
- Mix the sauce. Add the onions and garlic to the blender with the peppers. Pour in somewhat water, and mix till you attain your required consistency.
To Serve
Along with your pink pepper sauce blended, you’ll be able to retailer it for later (see the storing part additional on for particulars). Or, flip it into dinner with a few of my favourite straightforward components:
- Put all of it collectively. Wilt the spinach in your skillet from earlier, then add the cooked pasta and crumble within the feta cheese. Lastly, spoon the pink pepper sauce into the skillet (add as a lot as you’d like) and toss the whole lot collectively to coat.
Suggestions and Variations
- Salt and save the pasta water. It is a useful trick when cooking pasta and sauces. Season the pasta water with a few heaping spoonfuls of salt earlier than you add the pasta. Afterward, reserve a cup of starchy pasta water, simply in case. It’s a good way to skinny out the sauce (if wanted) whereas making it smoother and extra flavorful.
- Alter the consistency. If, after mixing, the sauce is just too chunky to your liking, you’ll be able to add somewhat extra water, pasta water, or olive oil and mix once more to skinny it out. If you have to thicken up pink pepper sauce that’s too skinny, your greatest wager is to simmer it in a pan over low warmth in order that it reduces.
- Make it creamy. For a creamy pink pepper pasta sauce, mix in heavy cream or cream cheese to style. You can too combine in somewhat béchamel sauce.
- Extra add-ins. As an alternative of seasoning with salt, prepare dinner an anchovy alongside the onions to mix up into the sauce for a pleasant trace of umami. You can too sauté add-ins like olives, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes with the spinach to stir in on the finish.
The right way to Retailer, Reheat, and Freeze
- Refrigerate. In the event you’re not utilizing the pink pepper sauce immediately, switch it from the blender to an hermetic container. Retailer leftovers within the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat. Heat the sauce (with or with out pasta) in a saucepan on the stovetop till it’s scorching all through. You can too use the microwave.
- Freeze. Freeze leftover pink pepper sauce by itself, with out the pasta, for as much as 3 months. Thaw the sauce within the fridge earlier than reheating.
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Boil the pasta. Cook dinner pasta in response to the instructions on the bundle.
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Sauté. Place drained piquillo peppers in a blender and put aside. In the meantime, warmth 2 tablespoons additional virgin olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add sliced onions, smashed garlic, thyme, salt, and floor pepper. Cook dinner for 4 minutes, stirring steadily, till tender.
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Mix. Take away from the warmth and switch the onion combination to the blender with the peppers. Add water and mix till fully easy. If too thick, add a tablespoon or two of additional virgin olive oil or water and proceed to mix till the specified consistency is reached. Style for seasonings and regulate accordingly, then put aside.
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Cook dinner the spinach. Warmth the remaining additional virgin olive oil in a skillet. Add spinach and prepare dinner for two minutes, or till wilted.
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Put all of it collectively. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the skillet with the spinach. Stir in feta cheese, and add as a lot pepper sauce as you need. Toss round to mix, then take away from warmth and serve.
Serving: 1cup | Energy: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 13g | Fats: 15g | Saturated Fats: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 7g | Trans Fats: 0.03g | Ldl cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 513mg | Potassium: 352mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3503IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 4mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might range in response to the components and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
