My mother always has bell peppers in the fridge and for the life of me I can’t understand why since neither my brother nor my father can eat them (they both claim that the acidity of ALL vegetables hurts their stomachs – except for potatoes). I asked her about this yesterday and she replied, “Well, I like them”. “But do you ever use the peppers that you buy?” I asked. “I guess not,” she said. Silence.

Sigh. Gotta love her.

So I took it upon myself to use them in this pasta dish from Bon Appetit’s Fast/Easy/Fresh. The original recipe only consisted of two servings, so I doubled it. Kind-of. I doubled the pasta, one and a half-ed the peppers (since we only had 3) and kept the sauce and green onions (12 green onions seemed like too many) and pine nuts the same. The sauce was very creamy and so I felt like using a cup and a half of cream would be overkill.

Results: This pasta dish was tasty and a good throw-together meal if you have the ingredients on hand. It’s not extraodinary enough for me to serve for company but it’s definitely a good weeknight staple.

Things around here have been looking up lately. I may or may not have met a boy at the gym. He works there. It’s too early to tell though really since the only encounters we’ve had have involved conversations at the front desk about his job, my job/student-ness, and why doing leg-strengthening exercises is important for my knees. However, he did end this conversation by saying that he was going to think up ways to challenge me with wall sits and squats to entice me to do them. There were so many things I could have responded to this but I figured NYSC is a PG environment and refrained. And he remembered my name from the day before when I registered. My goal: get a date by the end of the summer. We’ll see how that goes.

Linguine with Red Peppers, Green Onions, and Pine Nuts
Serves 4, adapted from Bon Appetit’s Fast/Easy/Fresh

1 lb linguine/spaghetti
3 bell peppers, sliced thin
6 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup pine nuts

1. Set up the water to cook the pasta. When it boils, cook the pasta, etc. Reserve some cooking liquid. I forgot to do this and it would have been better with the water.

2. Prep the veggies. In a pan, heat the EVOO. When it is hot, add the sliced bell peppers and saute until soft, 5-6 minutes. Add the green onions and saute 3 minutes. Remove from heat and store in a bowl.

3. In the same pan, add the half and half and white wine. Simmer 3 minutes or until thickened/reduced. Add in the parmesan cheese. Taste for salt and pepper. Mix in the peppers and pine nuts (toasted). Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Taste again. Mix with the pasta.

4. Serve with extra parmesan cheese for the table.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted this week by Katie of Thyme for Cooking.

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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12 Responses to Linguine with Red Peppers, Green Onions, and Pine Nuts

  1. Elra says:

    Joanne,
    I really like you added pine nut here. I love pine nut so much, that I can nibble them for my snack. Your pasta sound delicious and very colorful.

  2. Natashya says:

    You and I were definitely on the same wavelength last night! Looks great, I love pasta and red peppers.
    Good luck with your gentleman friend, nothing like new romance!

  3. I love the taste bell peppers add to dishes. Being from south Louisiana, bell pepper are the trinity of cooking. I like stuffing them too!

  4. Ruth says:

    Fingers crossed about the boy. Just serve him a dish of this and he’ll be yours for life! Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

  5. Why not offer to cook him this pasta dish. It looks delicious.

  6. Reeni? says:

    Woohoo for the boy! This looks delicious! Love that you added pine nuts!!

  7. burpandslurp says:

    lol, love your mom!
    Well, at least she has a smart daugher like you who knows how to cook a mean dish with bell peppers! yummy!

  8. katiez says:

    Looks great! I always have peppers in the fridge, too… But I always use them… Well, almost.

  9. Kim says:

    I hope your mom enjoyed the dish : ) It looks so colorful and I bet the sauce was really tasty. Good luck with the boy, sounds like fun.

  10. sugarlens says:

    I love bell peppers and always have them in the fridge too. I only go shopping once a week and I need veggies that last longer.

    Your pasta is making me hungry. Looks good!

    I am new to your blog – just found it today. I am also going on a Bahamas cruise. Your pictures make me want to go, like, now.

  11. Debinhawaii says:

    The pasta looks great. I’ll keep my fingers crossed on the date! 😉

  12. ejm says:

    Mmm, that looks good. I love red peppers on spaghettini but hadn’t thought of adding pinenuts. Good idea!

    -Elizabeth

    P.S. If you have left-over spaghetti with red peppers, it’s great in an omelette – we first got the idea from Giada DeLaurentis on the Food Network when she made a frittata using leftover spaghetti. But she didn’t call it a frittata; she called it Pizza di Spaghetti. Whatever it’s called, it’s delcious!

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