Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Pasta with Sausage

I made a pasta dish a few weeks ago and forgot to post it. So here it is: Pasta with a roasted tomato and roasted red pepper sauce with spicy sausage.

        I sure love pasta! Well, what I really love is the sauce. This is a pretty simple sauce with flavors intensified by roasting and caramelizing. I like to add flavor where I can and roasting, toasting or sautéing can deepen and sweeten flavors of veggies. I think the key to a great sauce is lots of flavor—not overpowering the intrinsic flavor of the ingredients by too much heat or spice but building layers of flavor that complement the sauce.  Another key way to intensify flavor is by reducing sauce, such as in our balsamic reduction sauce but that is for another day J

I know we don’t always have an hour to make dinner. One way to enjoy this on a weeknight after work, is to make the sauce the night before. You can roast the tomatoes ahead of time or make the whole sauce and refrigerate it. One other time saving hint, if you are in a hurry you can use a can of fire roasted tomatoes in place of the roasted tomatoes.

To increase nutrition, you could use a whole grain pasta! Of course, for vegetarian version you can skip the sausage—this sauce is quite flavorful without the sausage!

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Pasta with Sausage

6-8 roma tomatoes ( or 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes *)

3 TBSp olive oil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup roasted red peppers from a jar, drained

1/3 cup pesto, jarred or fresh

Olive oil

1 onion

12-16 oz Spicy or hot Italian Sausage

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. Italian herb blend

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup whipping cream, optional

Cavatappi, cellentani or elbow pasta

1/3 cup fresh grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

* You can skip the whole roasting tomatoes if you want and just use 1-2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, drained, if you are in a hurry.

Wash and quarter the roma tomatoes, removing most of the seeds . For easy clean up, put foil over large rectangular baking sheet with a rim. Then place 1 TBSP olive oil on pan.

Preheat oven to 350. Place in rectangular baking pan and drizzle with 2 TBSP olive oil and about a couple of teaspoons balsamic vinegar. Place in oven and roast for 40 minutes until tomatoes are nice and soft. Raise temperature to 400 and continue roasting for another 1o minutes to caramelize (brown) the tomatoes a bit.

While tomatoes are roasting, cut onion in half, removing ends and then cut in thin, vertical slices ( not rings). In a very large skillet on low heat, add oil and lightly caramelize onions by cooking on low for about 15  minutes. Once onions are soft, raise heat to med high for 3minutes or so to give them a little color. Once they are done, remove them to a bowl and cover.

 In the same pan, add sausage, breaking it up in larger bite sized pieces as it browns. When sausage is almost cooked, add garlic and spices. Cook till completely browned through and drain off extra grease. Return onions to pan.

Using a food processor,  pulse roasted tomatoes for a minute or so until mostly pureed. Add roasted red peppers, drained, and pesto and pulse until sauce is smooth and creamy. Pour this into the pan with sausage and onion and heat together for about 5 minutes on medium low. Add salt and pepper to taste.

All of this  can be made ahead of time and reheated for dinner.

About 15 minutes before time to serve, heat a large pot of salted water and once it is rigorously boiling, slowly add the pasta. Heat to boiling again and keep an eye out for boil overs.

Drain the pasta in a colander and add the sausage onions and pureed peppers/tomatoes sauce to the big pan. If desired add ½ cup of cream for extra creaminess. Blend and heat up sauce till nice and hot but not boiling.  Add the pasta in and stir in half of the parm cheese.  Plate the pasta and garnish with cheese, if desired. Serve

Chicken Marsala with Bacon, Mushrooms and Onion

I have had a few busy days lately and have often been in need of an easy recipe to get dinner on the table quickly. Pasta dishes are perfect when you don’t have long to cook so I want to share with you another pasta recipe that I made this week. I love the flavor of chicken Marsala. I have several variations on this but this time I thought it would be nice to bring bacon to the mix. I know some people don’t eat pork and if that is you, you could substitute oil and butter. But I have to say the bacon is a delicious addition to this recipe.

The flavor of marsala, mushrooms, onions and bacon are awesome but the chicken here turned out exceptionally tender and delicious. I really like dusting with flour and sautéing in bacon grease and then finishing it off with the Marsala and broth. This is a flavorful and comforting dish and it is ready to serve in less than a half hour.

Marsala chicken with mushrooms and bacon

5 slices bacon*

1 Onion, chopped

8 oz mushroom, (may use more), sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp thyme

1/3 cup or so of flour with generous pinch of poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, thyme, Salt and pepper

8 or so chicken tenderloins, cut into large bite sized pieces

½ box (1/2 lb) pasta, mini or regular bowtie, penne, or fettuccini

1 cup or so Marsala wine

½ cup chicken broth

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Pinch of sugar, dash of salt, pepper        

In a large shallow pan, fry the bacon. Drain and reserve renderings and set aside bacon strips. Pour a little bit of renderings back into pan and heat onion on low for 6 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms, add garlic and sprinkle with thyme and cook for another 5-7 minutes till mushrooms are softened. Remove mixture to a dish.

Begin heating a large pot of salted water for pasta.

Place flour on a plate with seasonings and lightly drudge chicken in it, shake off excess. Add a bit of bacon grease and heat to medium. Add chicken. Brown lightly on both sides, about 3 minutes on each. Add in Marsala wine, broth, balsamic, and lower to simmer.

Once water is boiling rapidly, add pasta. Keep water boiling for whatever time is listed on box. Drain when done.

After 3-5 minutes, add mushroom mix back in. Once chicken is no longer pink inside, add chopped bacon and serve over pasta or mix it all together. Garnish with cheese if desired.  Serve with sautéed spinach or green salad.

*If you prefer not to use bacon, you could substitute canola oil or half butter and half oil.

Please let me know what you think. I love to read comments and I want to know if you try this! Love, love love comments :-)

Recipe by Denise Birdsall 2011

Roasted Tomato and Kalamata Olive with Pasta

                  I like to have things on hand that I can throw together for a quick dinner. Last night, I was busy baking for my friend’s art show and I needed to have something ready for the family to eat before I took off. Roasted tomatoes to the rescue! Sometimes when Roma tomatoes are looking good and on sale, I like to buy a bag and roast them up for sauces and soups. You could also roast cherry tomatoes for this, or a meatier variety. The seeds and gel like pulp are not desired here so I usually use Roma because it has less of those. The flavors of roasted tomatoes are concentrated and intensified by the caramelization of roasting. It is very easy to eat more tomatoes in this form, which is a very good thing.

           Maybe a word here on Caramelization. Caramelizing things like vegetables involves a browning of sugars which creates a sweeter, more intense flavor. When onions are caramelized they are cooked at a low heat to soften and then a slightly higher heat to brown, resulting in a nice golden color and incredible sweet onion flavor. Similarly, the tomatoes here are roasted then allowed to brown a bit around the edges to increase the natural sweetness and mellow the acidic bite. Some of the liquid is roasted away, giving tomatoes a slightly chewier texture and deeper flavor. You are not looking for all over brown or black as this would not look appealing or taste as good. The roasted tomatoes here are only lightly caramelized.

        Roasted tomatoes can be blended into a marinara sauce or pureed into a soup. If I am planning on this I often pre skin tomatoes by dipping in boiling water for a minute then shocking in ice water. Skinning is not necessary but it gives smooth sauces and soups a creamier, more consistent texture.  Roasted tomatoes are great chopped up for bruschetta. Pieces of tomato can top pizza or be mixed into pasta. They can be served  over fish or chicken or mixed into other vegetable dishes.  These tomatoes are so good you could just eat them as a side dish!  No premade, store bought mixes needed with these babies around! Once a bit more of the snow melts from last’s nights storm I am off to get more Roma tomatoes.

                For last night’s meal, I looked in the pantry and found a jar of Kalamata olives. I wanted to keep this simple without too many ingredients. The tomatoes had been roasted with onions and garlic so that added some extra layers of flavor. I also had some goat cheese and parmesan in the fridge so that went into the mix, too. Olives add a nice dimension of flavor and the goat cheese and parm adds a tart and salty creaminess.  We all really loved the outcome. My husband said, “Make sure you write this one down.” Posting here takes care of that and I can share it with all of you!

All in all, a very tasty dish which can be ready in flash if you keep some roasted tomatoes on hand in the fridge or freezer and some olives and pasta in the pantry. In a pinch, if you are ever snowed in  and want to have good staples to use in your panty,  you could use quality, fire roasted canned tomatoes.   

Okay, here is the recipe.

Roasted Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives with Pasta

10 -12 Roma tomatoes

1 onion

2 garlic cloves, crushed,

3-4  TBSP  Olive oil

1 + TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. Italian herbs

Pinch of red pepper flakes,  garlic powder

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

Pasta, mini shells, elbow, bow tie or penne to serve 4-6 (about a half pound or half box)

6-8 oz. Kalamata olives, pitted

1-2 TBSP olive oil

3-4 TBSP goat cheese  *see substitutes

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Extra goat cheese and parmesan for garnish

First roast  the tomatoes If you would like, put foil over large rectangular baking sheet with a rim.  Then place 1 TBSP olive oil on pan. Wash and cut tomatoes in fourths lengthwise then cut each fourth in half. (If you prefer, you could just cut the tomatoes in half.)  Try to remove as many seeds as possible using water and fingers.

Preheat oven to 350.  Place in rectangular baking pan and drizzle with 2-3 TBSP olive oil and about a TBSP balsamic vinegar. Place in oven and roast for 25 minutes at 350.

 Remove from oven and turn pieces over, add sliced onion and crushed garlic. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs, garlic powder and sugar. (You could add everything all at once, but onions will brown faster than tomatoes.)

Roast another 20 minutes or so minutes till tomatoes are soft. Times for this vary! Raise temperature to 400 and roast until there is some light caramelization  (browning), without over browning, about 10 minutes ( see my notes above.) Turn pieces often and cook until  browned on some edges. You are not looking for blackened tomatoes or over all brown, just a bit here and there to add flavor.

These may be made ahead of time and refrigerated. I like to double this part of the recipe and put half away in the freezer for future use.





Boil a big pot of salted water for pasta. You can use any shaped pasta, looking for something around the same size as the tomato pieces- shells, elbow, bowtie, penne  or rotini may be good.  Cook pasta al dente, drain and reserve. Into same pot, add another TBSP or two of olive oil and heat tomatoes and olives for a couple minutes.

Add pasta back along with 3-4 TBSP goat cheese and ¼ cup parmesan. (*No Goat cheese? No problem! You may substitute feta or just use parmesan.Or perhaps add a bit of cream cheese) Stir and heat through. Season if needed.  Plate and garnish with a bit of extra parmesan  and goat cheese.

Recipe By Dinner with Denise

Happy Autumn ???





Kale and Cannellini Beans with pasta

I have a simple pantry recipe to share today. By that, I mean I threw it together based on what I had in my pantry that would go with Kale. I had three big bunches of kale this week. With one I made kale chips and one will go into a kale and potato soup so I needed to have an easy dish for the other. I have made a kale soup with Cannellini Beans (white kidney beans) so I thought I would try it as a pasta dish. Greens and beans are a great combination!

Have you tried Cannellini beans? They are my favorite! So creamy and pleasant. You could use any hearty green in this recipe but I think  various Kales would be the best by far. Perhaps mustard greens might work well also?

One more note, I made this with turkey kielbasa because my husband had been patient with mostly vegetarian meals for a week. I knew he was craving some meat. However, this would be just as good without any meat so feel free to leave it out!

Anyway, I figured I had better put up an easy, quick recipe to balance the labor intensive eggplant from yesterday J

Kale and Cannellini Beans with pasta

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed and cut into bite sized pieces

1 small red or yellow bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 package of turkey kielbasa, Optional

½ tsp. each marjoram, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper

1 can fire roasted tomato, diced

1 can cannellini beans, (also called white kidney beans)

About 4-5 servings cooked pasta (spaghetti or ziti or whatever!)

Parmesan cheese for garnish

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil to medium-low. Add onions and let them cook for about 6 minutes. Pasta should be cooking in another big pot of water with salt at this time.

 If you would like this to be a meat dish, you could add the turkey kielbasa or other sausage now and turn up the heat a bit to brown it. Once it is nicely browned, add kale, garlic, peppers and spices. Cook down for 4 minutes. Add tomato and beans. Heat, stirring gently for 3 minutes until kale is softening but not mushy. Mix with hot, cooked pasta.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.