Grilled Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

Difficulty: Medium
Grade: 8.5
Duration: 45 minutes
Number of people: 4
Note: I roast the peppers in the oven. It creates a lot of smoke in the pan.

• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil, divided over several steps
• 2 red bell peppers, quartered (or swap for roasted red bell pepper)
• 1 orange bell pepper, quartered (or swap for a red bell pepper)
• ¼ tsp salt, divided over several steps
• ⅛ tsp ground black pepper, divided over several steps
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 14.1 oz (400 g) dry spaghetti noodles (swap for GF pasta if desired)
• ¼ cup (28 g) sun-dried tomato in oil
• ¼ cup (29 g) roasted walnuts
• 1½ cups (201 g) frozen green peas

1. Add half the oil to a large pan on high heat. When hot, add the bell peppers, and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper overtop.
2. Cook until the skin begins to blister, and then flip to cook on the other side. To speed up this recipe, you could alternatively skip this step and use roasted bell pepper from a jar.
3. When the bell peppers are cooked through and blistered on both sides, push them to the side of the pan, add a small bit more oil, and cook the garlic until lightly golden, about 2 - 3 minutes. —> This is done by cutting the bell peppers into quarters and placing them on parchment paper on a baking sheet with the broiler setting at 200 degrees until the peppers start to char a bit. Remember to flip them halfway through.
4. Transfer both the bell pepper and garlic to a food processor or blender. Then add in the sun-dried tomato, and walnuts. Blend until smooth, but some small chunks can remain, if desired.
5. Add a large pan to heat, and add oil. When hot, cook the zucchini. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper, and try not to disturb the zucchini as it cooks, and give a flip only when golden.
6. To a large pot of salted boiling water, add the pasta. 1 minute before the pasta is ready, you can add peas. When the pasta is al dente, drain. Then return the drained pasta to the pot.
7. Add the cooked zucchini and blended red bell pepper mixture to the pot. Toss everything to coat.
8. One heated through, serve while hot. Garnish if desired, and enjoy!

source: https://www.pickuplimes.com/recipe/grilled-red-pepper-pesto-pasta-314

#pastas