This is a simple, classic, and delicious recipe from the Lake Como region. It is loaded with rich and decadent butter.
This is a beautiful combination of goat cheese and peppers. The peppers add a lovely earthiness to the pasta and colour, and the goat cheese has an irresistible creaminess. Use a rich, creamy goat cheese that is fresh, not an agen crumbly one, so the sauce is rich and smooth. This is a surprising sauce to most guests who are used to commercial pasty smooth tomato sauce, it is chunky and nuanced and popping with flavour.
Marcella is the doyen of Italian cooking In America. She has published several cookbooks, focussing on the various local recipes of the different regions of Italy. In Marcella Cucina, she focuses on regional cooking, turning her sharp eye to every area of Italy and offering a rich array of flavours and textures from cities and villages alike. This is a classic Italian cookbook, one every chef should have in their library. The recipes are simple but always turn out beautiful and delicious. The flavours are very local to the regions of Ialy with no compromise on quality. This is a book that is a joy to cook from.
For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, cored and cut into julienne
2 red peppers, cored and cut into julienne
2 green peppers, cored and cut into julienne
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon pepper
Salt, to taste
4 oz. creamy goat's cheese
Pasta of your choice, penne, fusilli or fettuccine
8 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
A drizzle of olive oil
Heat the oil in a pot on a low flame and add the onion and garlic. Cook on a low flame for 4-5 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the peppers, thyme, pepper, wine, and salt. Cook on medium heat for 40-50 minutes until the peppers are very soft—taste for salt and pepper. The cheese will add quite a bit of salt, so you want the sauce to be less salty.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, minus one minute for al dante. Drain and set aside.
To serve, heat the pepper sauce again. Add the cheese and mix in as it starts to simmer, allowing it to melt into the sauce. Do not boil the sauce; doing so will cause the cheese to split.
Twirl the pasta on a plate. Top with the sauce and garnish with smoe more crumbles of goat,s cheese. Serve immediately.
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