Happy New Year!   I hope 2012 brings good health, good food, good company and fun adventures to your life!

After holiday parties, cooking nice meals for family and just being more social that I am normally,  I thought a nice, quick and simple dinner was in order.   This is a recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis and take about 15-20 minutes, which is mostly cooking the pasta!    Sometimes I change  recipes  to be gluten free, vegetarian or vegan but this time I actually added cheese.

The parmesan adds a nice flavor and saltiness to the dish, especially since the breadcrumbs I used were plain.   If you have seasoned breadcrumbs, that would be a nice addition.   This dish also makes really good leftovers.   Reheat the pasta in a saute pan until it crisps a little bit.    I have made this with whole wheat pasta as well as a gluten free brown rice pasta (and gluten free breadcrumbs) and they were both delicious.    I used jarred red peppers but  you could certainly roast your own at home

Again, it’s quick –  about 15 -20 minutes, including boiling the water!

 Ingredients:

1 pound Rigatoni (or any pasta with ridges)  I had Pipe Rigate so that is what I used.

2-3 Roasted Red Peppers

1/2  cup Slivered Almonds

1  cup Breadcrumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 cup Olive Oil

salt and pepper

   

Boil water  and add a generous amount of salt.  The salt water flavors the pasta, and it’s the only time you can do this in the cooking process.  Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a saute pan for about 4-5 minutes on medium to low heat on the stove. Watch the almonds – they can burn quickly!  Add breadcrumbs, almonds and 1/4 cup  Parmesan to a cuisinart and pulse several times.  Cut the roasted red pepper into short strips.   Pour cooked pasta into a serving bowl, adding a few tablespoons of the pasta water.   Pour breadcrumb mixture on to pasta and the olive oil and mix together until pasta is coated.  Add Red Pepper slices and the remaining Parmesan.