pasta w/ roasted garlic & sweet pepper cream sauce & fresh basil
As promised, the recipe I cooked up the other night. As always, guesstimated as I don't actually measure when I invent new recipes.
INGREDIENTS
sauce:
1 c. cottage cheese (regular or 2-4%, NOT fat-free)
2 roasted red/yellow bell peppers (roast w/ veggies below unless you have canned, pre-roasted peppers)
10+ cloves roasted garlic (roast them w/ the veggies below)
1/2 clove raw garlic
2-4 T. milk or cream
4-6 fresh basil leaves
dash of salt
roasted veggies:
- 1/4+ c. olive oil
- zucchinis (2-3)
- onion, red or yellow -- 1 small
- sweet pepper/bell pepper (yellow, orange or red) -- roast 1 if you have canned peppers for the sauce, roast 3 if you don't.
VEGGIES:
Preheat oven to 500F
1) slice zucchini in thin, long slices. rub w/ a cut garlic clove. brush/coat w/ olive oil.
2) slice onions in thin rings, toss with some olive oil till coated
3) separate garlic into individual cloves, coat w/ olive oil
4) cut bell peppers into large strips, coat w/ olive oil
5) i roasted the veggies in 2 separate pans -- zucchini & onions together, garlic & peppers together. keep an eye on them. i think it took 15+ minutes for me. the zucchinis should get a bit brown/bubbly (flip them part way through) and the onions should get golden & start shriveling. the garlic cloves should become soft and the peppers should begin to blister.
SAUCE (start this when veggies are almost done roasting unless you need to roast the peppers for the sauce first):
1) put cottage cheese in blender, blend till very smooth.
2) add roasted peppers, raw garlic & roasted garlic -- blend till smooth.
3) add a bit of milk or cream to make the sauce a bit thinner, blend.
4) add basil leaves and pulse a few seconds till basil is just broken up.
5) slowly heat mixture over a double boiler till warm (it will separate if it gets too hot).
Serve sauce over hot, whole wheat pasta (or plain if you prefer) topped with sauce & arrange roasted onions, chopped roasted peppers, strips of roasted zucchini on top. Spinkle with julienned basil leaves.
Optional: add some lightly steamed broccoli to the mix.
INGREDIENTS
sauce:
1 c. cottage cheese (regular or 2-4%, NOT fat-free)
2 roasted red/yellow bell peppers (roast w/ veggies below unless you have canned, pre-roasted peppers)
10+ cloves roasted garlic (roast them w/ the veggies below)
1/2 clove raw garlic
2-4 T. milk or cream
4-6 fresh basil leaves
dash of salt
roasted veggies:
- 1/4+ c. olive oil
- zucchinis (2-3)
- onion, red or yellow -- 1 small
- sweet pepper/bell pepper (yellow, orange or red) -- roast 1 if you have canned peppers for the sauce, roast 3 if you don't.
VEGGIES:
Preheat oven to 500F
1) slice zucchini in thin, long slices. rub w/ a cut garlic clove. brush/coat w/ olive oil.
2) slice onions in thin rings, toss with some olive oil till coated
3) separate garlic into individual cloves, coat w/ olive oil
4) cut bell peppers into large strips, coat w/ olive oil
5) i roasted the veggies in 2 separate pans -- zucchini & onions together, garlic & peppers together. keep an eye on them. i think it took 15+ minutes for me. the zucchinis should get a bit brown/bubbly (flip them part way through) and the onions should get golden & start shriveling. the garlic cloves should become soft and the peppers should begin to blister.
SAUCE (start this when veggies are almost done roasting unless you need to roast the peppers for the sauce first):
1) put cottage cheese in blender, blend till very smooth.
2) add roasted peppers, raw garlic & roasted garlic -- blend till smooth.
3) add a bit of milk or cream to make the sauce a bit thinner, blend.
4) add basil leaves and pulse a few seconds till basil is just broken up.
5) slowly heat mixture over a double boiler till warm (it will separate if it gets too hot).
Serve sauce over hot, whole wheat pasta (or plain if you prefer) topped with sauce & arrange roasted onions, chopped roasted peppers, strips of roasted zucchini on top. Spinkle with julienned basil leaves.
Optional: add some lightly steamed broccoli to the mix.