Tag Archives: mascarpone cheese

Creamy Red Pepper Pasta

29 May

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-2

We rented our place last week so I’m finally able to cook again! These short weeks really throw me off. I work best when I have a regular schedule. Normally I go to the grocery store on Monday morning, but we were gone for the holiday so I had to go today. Really strange for me. On top of everything, Michael is going to San Francisco on Friday which threw me off even further. So now I’m off my schedule, Michael’s leaving and I have to start packing up our house. Yay for me!

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-3

This recipe was born from a state of complete disarray. As I said, I’m kind of a mess and needed something delicious and easy. Honestly, this couldn’t be any easier.

Ingredients:
Serves 2
2 red peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb whole wheat pasta
3 tbsp fresh basil, julienned
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the peppers on a baking sheet and roast until well charred. Remove from the peppers from the oven and cover with a large pot. Allow the peppers to steam for 10 minutes. Seed and peel the peppers.
    2. Cook the pasta according to package.
    3. Add the peppers, mascarpone cheese, both garlic cloves and 1 tbsp olive oil to a blender. Mix until well combined.
    4. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the asparagus and saute until tender. Remove from heat.
    5. When the pasta is just about cooked, add the sauce to the pan with the asparagus and warm over medium heat. Add the drained pasta and toss until well combined. Add the basil and toss.
    6. Top with parmesan cheese and some fresh basil.

As always, enjoy!

Creamy-Red-Pepper-Pasta-1

Tags: , , , , , ,

Vegetable Bolognese

7 Mar

Vegetable-Bolognese-Cooked

Pasta definitely tops the list of my favorite foods. Add in some cheese and it’s even better. However, being the healthy person that I am, I knew that I needed to throw in something to balance the pasta and cheese. Enter vegetables!

Raibow-Carrots

When I was at the grocery store this weekend these beauties jumped out at me and I knew that they would be perfect in this bolognese. It’s kind of sad that you can’t see their beautiful color but they sure tasted good.

IMG_9391

Just a quick note, I doubled the recipe so that I could freeze half for later.

Ingredients:
Inspired by Giada De Laurentiis
2 red bell peppers, chopped
8 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch rainbow carrots
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tsp fresh thyme
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 can tomato paste
16 oz. mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1/8 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 pound whole wheat pasta
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta according to package and preheat oven to 350o
  2. Give the bell peppers, carrots and onion a rough chop and transfer to a food processor, along with the garlic and pulse until you have a mixture of finely grated and chunks of vegetables
  3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, transfer vegetable mixture to the pan and add the thyme and oregano
  4. Cook vegetables until golden brown and stir in tomato paste
  5. Once tomato paste is combined, add vegetable broth and reduce for about 20 minutes
  6. Remove the pan from heat and stir in mascarpone and parmesan cheese
  7. Stir until both cheeses are combined
  8. Toss the pasta with the sauce and cubed mozzarella cheese. Spoon into individual ramekins or baking dish
  9. Bake until cheese is melted

As always, enjoy!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,