Herbed Penne in Pink Sauce Pasta

Herbed Penne in Pink Sauce Pasta

Pasta is my comfort food. Whenever I'm feeling low or have lots of veggies in the fridge, I toss them all in a pan and make pasta! Sounds like you, too? Read on then!

I've had pink pasta at many restaurants before and during this quarantine, I finally decided to cook this much relished dish of fine. So I got to work and was pretty pleased with the result! Even though this sounds fancier than our usual red or white sauce pasta, it's not much effort, I promise!

I loved it and I hope you do too! Also, paired with garlic bread, this pasta is lit!

Tips before we get cooking:

1. While you may use any shape of pasta, I highly recommend Penne or Bucatini. The insides of these hold the sauce very well and the pasta tastes scrumptious

2. You can easily skip the cream in the recipe if you are looking for a healthy option 

3. For tips on how to boil the perfect pasta, see this

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

For the herbed penne:

3 cups cooked penne or bucatini pasta

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt to taste

For the pink sauce:

2 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp finely crushed garlic

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1/2 cup bell peppers, cubes

1.5 cups tomato puree

1/2 cup pitted olives

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp dry red chili flakes

1/2 tsp sugar

1 cup white sauce (you can see my Bechamel Sauce Recipe)

1/4 cup fresh cream

For Garnishing:

Grated Cheese (Cheddar is what I prefer)

Method:

For the herbed penne / bucatini pasta:

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add pasta, red chili flakes, oregano and salt

2. Mix them well and keep aside

For the pink sauce:

1. Heat the olive oil in a broad pan. Add onions and garlic, cook on medium flame till onions become translucent

2. Add the bell peppers and saute for another 2 minutes

3. Add the tomato puree, tomato ketchup, mixed herbs, sugar and salt and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes on a medium flame

4. Add the Bechamel Sauce, fresh cream and olives

5. Grate some cheese on top of your pasta and enjoy!

Do give this recipe a try and share your feedback and pictures with on instagram, my handle is @thevegfooodie