Creamy Red Pepper Pasta

About This Recipe

Calabrian chili beef crumbles over pappardelle with a blended roasted red pepper and cottage cheese pasta sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Pappardelle
• 1 cup (226g) Low Fat Cottage Cheese
• 2 (220g) Roasted Red Peppers
• 2 Tablespoons (28g) Brine from Roasted Red Peppers
• ½ cup (56g) Parmesan
• 2 handfuls Parsley (finely chopped)
• 1 pound Ground Beef (96/4)
• 3 Tablespoons (44g) Chopped Calabrian Chili Peppers (I used Trader Joe's Italian Bomba Pepper Sauce)
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons (42g) Honey
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 4 Frozen Crushed Garlic Cubes (or 4 cloves fresh garlic )
• ¼ cup Water

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
2. Blend the cottage cheese, roasted red peppers and brine, and parmesan together until smooth. Set aside.
3. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat with cooking spray or a teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the ground beef and brown one side for 2-3 minutes until a crust forms on one side. Break the beef apart with a spatula and fully cook.
4. While the beef cooks, mix together the Calabrian peppers, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and water. Add the sauce to the cooked beef, stir everything together, and cook untouched for 3-4 minutes until the sauce begins to caramelize on the bottom. The beef should be crispy and no liquid should remain.
5. Start the pasta once you add the sauce to the beef. Cook the pasta for 6 minutes or just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Turn off the heat and add the cooked pasta back to the pot along with the blended red pepper sauce and about half the beef. Use the reserved pasta water as needed to bring everything together. (I used about ½ cup.)
6. Plate the pasta and garnish with the remaining beef and chopped parsley. Add extra freshly grated parmesan, if desired.