Roasted Red Pepper, Goat Cheese, and Mushroom Pasta

Nothing like a 100 degree day to fill your belly with a heap of comfort food. This pasta dish was inspired by two different recipes discovered on Pinterest then combined and tweaked. (Ignore the squash.... that was going to be a side, but we opted for salad). This cheese sauce is very rich, and easy to make. You can use whatever pasta you want (we chose linguinette) and add the veggies or meat that makes you happy. I was content to go meatless tonight, as we had a pile of mushrooms, cheese, and garlic pulled straight from our yard last week. Tacked on a crispy side salad, topped with croutons made from last weekend's purchase of rustic Italian Bread from Enrico's Biscotti in Pittsburgh-- and bon apetit. This is going into high rotation for dinner.


Roasted Red Pepper, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pasta

Yield: 2 large servings

Ingredients: 

2 Whole Red Bell Peppers- if you plan to roast your own red bell peppers
SHORTCUT: Use a 1/2 cup of jarred, roasted red peppers (or grab some from the closest grocery salad bar), coursely chopped, which is what I did tonight.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (fat free) half & half- brought to room temperature
4 oz. goat cheese (plain or herbed is good too)
2/3 cup grated parigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms-- or artichoke hearts (optional)
1/2 lb. linguine, cooked to al dente
sprinkle of red pepper flakes or ground red pepper for kick
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
If roasting your red peppers: 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. Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces. 

In a sauce pan, saute shallots in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes then add garlic, sauteing over for another 3 minutes. 

Stir in half & half, add goat cheese in bits. Stir until melted, add salt to taste, and keep warm over low heat.


In a separate frying pan, cook the mushrooms (or whatever additional veggies and meat you plan to include) in olive oil-- Mushrooms cook for about 5 minutes. 



Next, add the roasted red peppers (or take the shortcut and go for the jarred peppers. Mine contained caramelized onion, which lent a bit of sweetness to the to the sauce.)


Stir in Parmesan and salt to taste. When melted, puree sauce in a food processor, or with an immersion blender. 


Once fully blended, toss with cooked pasta and mushrooms. I used linguinette-- a skinnier version of linguine. 

Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with more Parmesan cheese (or not), pepper, and parsley (also from my garden)...