grilled red pepper pasta

You’ve heard of roasted red pepper pasta—but what about grilled red pepper pasta? 

If you don’t have a jar of roasted peppers on hand or you don’t want to turn your oven on in the summer heat, fire up the grill instead. Char a couple red bell peppers and a shallot, then throw them into a processor with garlic, parmesan, almonds, tahini, and olive oil. The result is a textured sauce that’s lightly sweet, nutty, and carbon-kissed.

Toss the sauce with pasta and top with more parm, black pepper, basil, and a drizzle of good olive oil. This pasta tastes and sits so light, leaving room for the longer summer evening.

Watch the video!

grilled red pepper pasta

Serves two

Ingredients:

2 red bell peppers

1 shallot

olive oil

kosher salt

6 ounces pasta

1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup parmesan, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 tablespoon tahini

black pepper

Handful fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Slice the bell peppers into thirds and the shallot in half. Drizzle everything with olive oil, season with salt, and toss until coated.

2. Cook the pasta in the salted boiling water. Meanwhile, grill the peppers and shallot until they are soft and nicely charred. 

3. Let the peppers and shallots cool slightly, then peel off any large pieces of charred skin from the peppers.

4. When the pasta reaches al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before straining the pasta.

5. Place the grilled peppers and shallots in a food processor. Add the garlic, parmesan, almonds, and tahini, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Process until the sauce has a uniform consistency.

6. Pour the sauce into a pan and heat on the stove until it starts to bubble. Add in the cooked pasta and the remaining 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Toss until all the pasta is coated.

7. Divide the pasta into bowls and top with parmesan, black pepper, chopped basil, and a drizzle of good olive oil.