Three Pepper Pesto Pasta Recipes

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium low heat. Add pesto, onion, and salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes, or until onions are soft.
• In a large bowl, mix pesto mixture into pasta. Stir in grated cheese. Serve.

Steps:

• Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
• While pasta is cooking, heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook bell peppers in oil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
• Stir pasta sauce into peppers. Simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Serve over pasta.

Steps:

• Cook ziti as directed on package. Drain.
• Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add bell peppers; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until onion and peppers are crisp-tender, stirring frequently.
• Add cooked ziti; stir gently to mix. Remove from heat; stir in pesto and vinegar. If desired, add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cheese.
• TIP: If balsamic vinegar isn't a staple in your pantry, use 2 teaspoons cider vinegar and a pinch of brown sugar instead.

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside; keep warm.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, toast pine nuts on a cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, do not over toast.
• Transfer pine nuts to a food processor.
• Spray an unheated large skillet with olive oil no stick spray - or use 1 teaspoons olive oil. Add the red, yellow and green peppers. Stir in the onions and garlic.
• Cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, add basil and garlic to blender or food processor. Blend until finely chopped. Slowly pour oil, then chicken broth in thin streams with the blender/processor running.
• Gradually add Parmesan cheese, a paste will form.
• Toss paste with pasta, divide amongst 4-6 plates.
• Top with pepper mixture.
• ((If you want to use as an entire meal add a cooked chicken breast cut into strips into the pepper mixture and cook with the peppers. Add a little extra olive oil and cook until the peppers and onions are tender.)).

Steps:

• Place the Parmesan cheese and olive oil in a blender or food processor; blend until smooth. Add the red bell pepper, basil, red pepper flakes, and black pepper; blend again until smooth.

Steps:

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine 1 tablespoon oil, basil, lemon juice, garlic and salt; cover and process until smooth. , In a large skillet, saute asparagus in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Add shrimp and pepper flakes. Cook and stir until shrimp turn pink. , Drain spaghetti; place in a large bowl. Add basil mixture; toss to coat. Add shrimp mixture and mix well.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare the pesto: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, tomato paste, garlic and red-pepper flakes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until mixture is toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl to let cool for a few minutes.
• Add the roasted red peppers and Parmesan to a food processor. Top with the cooled tomato mixture and the remaining 2/3 cup olive oil, and pulse the mixture until you form a paste. (It makes 2 cups.)
• Season the boiling water generously with salt, then add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta water, then drain the pasta.
• Return the pasta to the pot, along with about 1 1/2 cups of the red pesto and 1 cup of the pasta water, and stir vigorously until the sauce is glossy and the pasta is evenly coated. Stir in additional pesto or pasta water to taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide among bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan and top with torn basil. Shave some fresh lemon zest on top, if using. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook peppers and onion in oil until crisp-tender. Drain pasta; add to vegetable mixture. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, salt, basil and pepper. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.

Steps:

• Remove the skin from the roasted garlic cloves. In the small bowl of a food processor, whizz the roasted peppers, garlic, cayenne, almonds, Parmesan and oil until it makes a rough pesto consistency. Taste and season.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan with the pesto, basil and a little of the cooking water, then heat through. Serve with extra Parmesan, if you like.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a small or medium skillet over medium, toast nuts, shaking the skillet occasionally until browned (try one to see), 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board to cool.
• As the nuts cool, into a large bowl, grate the Parmesan on the small holes of a box grater (or pulse chunks in a blender).
• Add the garlic clove and a pinch of salt to the pile of nuts and coarsely chop the nuts and garlic together. Add a handful of the herbs and another pinch of salt, and coarsely chop. (Opt for forceful, purposeful chops as opposed to soft, timid ones.) Toss and smash the mixture every few chops. Repeat with the remaining herbs, salting at each step, until a wet, coarse paste forms. Stir into the cheese, then stir in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. In the last 3 minutes of cooking, add the peas to the pasta. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain. Add the pasta and peas to the pesto and stir to combine. Add pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, more oil and more Parmesan.