creamy, smoky roasted red pepper vodka sauce
Sometimes even the most immaculate meal-planners screw up. Last night we were supposed to make a nice clean pan-roasted halibut and lemon greens. Only the halibut never came out of the freezer, and the last of our arugula was used as a salad at lunch. Now what?
It is in these desperate times that I turn to my grandmother-inspired pantry and hunt for abandoned ingredients that deserve, at last, to find their higher calling. In the past I have brought new life to languishing artichoke hearts, forgotten beans, or long-abandoned dehydrated mushrooms. Tonight, it was jarred roasted red pepper’s turn. And he turned it OUT.
peps galore!
This is effectively a minimum effort re-edit of my unstuffed roasted red pepper shells alla vodka,* which is a Project with a capital P and not what I’d consider weeknight friendly. This roasted red pepper sauce is incredibly similar yet also the exact opposite, designed to be made specifically with jarred peppers—preferably the whole, deeply roasted ones, which most stores sell.
But whether this is truly a “pantry pasta” depends entirely on the pantry. Garlic, olive oil, vodka, and pasta are givens in most kitchens. Fortunately, everything else on this list can be something you “just have laying around” because, if you stock up right, everything you need for this dish lasts just short of forever: tomato paste in a tube can last 6-8 weeks open in the fridge, and cream, which is technically perishable, easily keeps for a month refrigerated if you choose one with a far-out date.
The other handy thing is, as usual, my stick blender, which you can use to blend the sauce right in the pot—you can always do it in a regular blender, but I don’t like to do extra dishes.
Because we’re usually two of us, I prefer to make this in a half batch, but I know many people do prefer to make a pound of pasta at a time; if you’re more like me, this is written to be easily cut in half without weird remnant ingredients left over.
After making it last night, I am proud to say it officially joins the ranks of:
SIMPLEST PASTAS YOU CAN MAKE IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR!
*BONUS: you can 100% substitute this sauce to shortcut for those unstuffed shells, too—it’s scaled for this use already.
we do not “say when” in this house
RECIPE
Peppy AF. With just a few simple staple ingredients—jarred peppers, garlic, tomato paste, smoky paprika, chili flakes, cream—and a blender, you can easily create a creamy-yet-zesty roasted red pepper pasta in under 30 minutes.
Effortful time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Makes enough for 1 lb pasta—I cut this in half for two of us
YOU NEED
1 tbsp. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. (or more) chili flakes; you can omit if you’re not down with spice
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 can of tomato paste, or about 4 tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste in the tube (tomato paste in a can is less concentrated; this is the most forgiving quantity in the dish, so use what’s easiest for you! I do this so you can easily use 2 tbsp. if cutting in half)
1/2 cup vodka
2x 12 oz jars of whole roasted red peppers, drained well
Salt, to taste
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated pecorino or parm, plus more for serving
1 lb. pasta in a nice chunky shape, like rigatoni; pictured here is Sfoglini’s Cascatelli
make it
Get ready. Put salted water on for pasta. Chop your garlic. Get your tomato paste ready to go.
Cook the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan (pictured is a 3 qt. pan) over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant but not browning.
Spice it up. Add the chili flakes (if using) and smoked paprika and cook 10 seconds more.
Tomato time. Add the tomato paste. Cook 30 seconds longer, breaking up with your spoon to fully coat in the oil/garlic/spices. Be careful of splatters.
Deglaze it and simmer. Pour in the 1/2 cup of vodka and scrape the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to low and add the roasted red peppers peppers and salt. Bring this to a simmer over low heat.
Cook your pasta. When the water is boiling, add the pasta. Cook this 2-3 minutes less than the package directions. It will finish in the sauce.
Finish your sauce. 2 minutes before the pasta is “done,” add your cream to the sauce along with 1/4 cup of your starchy pasta water from the pasta pot. From here, either transfer it to a blender, or into a container you can use an immersion blender on (I did it right in the pot). Puree until smooth. It will be kind of loose. This is okay.
Introduce your pasta to your sauce. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta straight into the sauce; no need to drain it. Simmer and stir for the final 2-3 minutes until pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened. Add another splash of pasta water if it looks too thick.
Finish it up. Stir in the 1/4 cup cheese. Serve hot with extra cheese and chili flakes.