Creamy Bell Pepper Sauce
Equipment
- Large sauté pan with lid to fit sauce and pasta
- Knife
- Cutting board
- blender or hand blender
- Small bowl
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion - small and diced
- 3 bell peppers - (red, yellow, or orange), diced in small pieces
- 30 g parmigiano cheese - grated
- 200 g fresh heavy cream
- 1 handful fresh basil - washed and ripped into smaller pieces by hand
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Choose bell peppers with glossy, firm skin. Avoid the ones with green, they’re still young and have a stronger flavor. Avoid peppers with soft skin that looks shriveled, it’s a sign of aging.
- To clean and chop bell peppers, watch my VIDEO
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, add 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add the chopped onion, and turn the heat to medium-low. Gently sauté the onion for about 5 minutes until soft, but not browned. Stir from time to time to make sure they are well covered with extra virgin olive oil and don’t stick.
- Add the chopped bell peppers and season with salt. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Cover with a lid and let it cook at low heat for about 15 minutes until bell peppers have cooked down and softened. Check onions and peppers a few times and stir to prevent them from burning.
- When the bell peppers and onion are well cooked and soft, turn the heat off. Reserve 1 ½ cup of the veggies in a small bowl for later.
- Add the remaining veggies in a blender (or blend in the pot with a hand blender), and blend into a creamy sauce.
- Return the creamed vegetables to the sauté pan and parmesan, heavy cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the lid and set aside.
- The sauce is ready. When pasta is cooked, add the pasta to the sauté pan and toss to combine well.
Notes
- To clean and chop bell peppers, avoiding the mess of all the seeds, watch my VIDEO
- If you don’t want to use heavy cream, use ricotta, milk, or even coconut milk when you blend bell peppers. If the sauce is too thin, add some Parmigiano cheese. The result will be a lighter sauce.
- If you have one, use a hand blender directly in the saucepan to blend the bell peppers, reserving some whole pieces for garnish.
- This creamy sauce is perfect for fresh egg pasta which is always well paired with rich sauces.