Creamy Pappardelle with Carrots, Bell Peppers, & Tomatoes
It has been one hell of a weekend…but in a really good way! From a Star Wars Party to a true lazy Sunday that included two afternoon walks around the neighborhood (one with dogs & one without), it’s been a true weekend where we were able to break the “Everday I’m Hustlin’” soundtrack of our lives. & I feel rewarded! Partly because our past few weekends have been filled with yard work & dog watching, both of which aren’t thorns in my side by any means. It’s just I legitimately can’t pinpoint the last time we’ve had nothing to do, or dare I say be bored. Our typical MO has been working until we can’t anymore, and just enjoying when that moment to sit on the couch and rest for fifteen minutes finally rolls around. Like today we looked at each at one point and were like “what should we do?” And that was after a morning movie, a homemade brunch of avocado toast, and a 3 mile walk with the dogs. All were fun Sunday treats, and we just weren’t prepared to embrace our boredom. So another walk it was, this time to the neighborhood corner-store for tall boys. & let me tell you…I can’t remember the last time I walked home from the grocery store with brown bagged tall boys.
I think my big take-away from this weekend is it’s ok to slow-down and embrace white spaces on the calendar. & this is coming from the girl who very much looks forward to filling out her weekly planner each week…planning meals and workouts and setting specific goals for the week. I had the opportunity to embrace blank spaces on the calendar, & the lesson learned was that slowing down and being content with having nothing to do can be pretty f*cking nice. & doing that with your partner (even if just for the day) is even more gratifying. Like I had fun being bored with Jordan, & if that’s not a sign of true love I don’t know what is.
Whenever I have those opportunities to make whatever plans I want without sidelining any other pending tasks, or without derailing whatever my husband might have planned for the day, I go with the Marie Kondo method…does it spark joy? If that night it means watching copious amounts of Forensic Files or practicing new hair-dos & make-up regimens…I roll with it! This weekend it involved gin & tonics in the yard and an episode of My Favorite Murder in the background. Total f*cking bliss!
One of my most favorite things to do when there is no pending plans, and something that always sparks joy, is experimenting in the kitchen. It’s nice to be rolling with no plans when the serious experimenting goes on around here. I mean No. 1 - no regrets about spending an extra bit of time whipping things up. What else do you have to do? No. 2 - if shit goes not according to plan, getting takeout instead is totally acceptable. & kind of a comical ending to the day. On the flip-side, when a kitchen experiment goes well, you feel so accomplished and have something exciting to show for it. Maybe even something impressive!
I used to struggle HARD with alfredo sauce. I distinctly remember making one particular alfredo pasta a couple years ago that tasted okay, but I made a sad attempt to plate it up oh so beautifully and it looked like a total mess. Like the serving plate I chose was pretty, but not right for pasta, and I hadn’t really gotten the whole garnish thing down. Just had visions of it looking so decadent and perfect sitting on our kitchen table, and it just did not. It was this pasta primavera I wanted to make solely because it had such a pretty color scheme - a cream sauce with primarily all orange veggies…carrots, orange bell peppers, & heirloom tomatoes. It just looked so pretty with pops of red from the tomatoes and some chili flakes. It’s like one of those dinners at home that haunts me because it was such a mess. So on our night home with not much to do, I took my gin & tonic & my pups into the kitchen, and we went for pasta primavera redemption.
The Creamy Pappardelle with Carrots, Bell Peppers & Tomatoes that came out of my kitchen this weekend was total perfection. I splurged and used plenty of butter & heavy cream, simmered them both together until it produced a thick & sticky sauce that just coated the noodles. & I did go heavy on the veggies, which I’m telling myself balances out the not so calorie-friendly sauce.
Carrots were the primary veg in this pasta, & let me just say perfectly cooked carrots in an alredo sauce is total heaven. Like never have I had them in a pasta until this pasta, and omg it’s so good. Carrot disks that are browned and then cooked in the sauce…they take on this buttery flavor when they’re softened that is nothing other than yummy. Between that and the warm baby tomatoes that stay super juicy…it’s veggie heaven.
I say it all the time at home, but you eat with your eyes first, so having a couple pops of color in this monochromatic pasta is necessary. I used healthy handful of my favorite herb, parsley…minced up and mixed into the buttery-white sauce just makes you want to dig in. It’s an herb that doesn’t have a real distinct flavor, and just has a super fresh taste that imparts a pleasant freshness to a creamy & cheesy sauce.
It is a habit here in the Zehner house is to ALWAYS serve pasta over a bed of arugula, transforming our dish into more of a warm pasta salad. I will sneak in some veggies anywhere I can get em’! We line our bowls with a handful or arugula, and we choose arugula because it’s peppery taste just tastes so good with any noodle & sauce combo. It is a pretty fire combo with an alfredo sauce. A twirl of noodles with an arugula leaf or two in the mix is just the perfect bite.
Cooking tip: when you’re cooking pasta for dinner and trying to get it together all at once, a really great timesaver is starting with putting a pot of water over medium heat. A pot of boiling water is going to be needed, and lord knows those big pots of water take some time to boil. Putting it over medium heat will get the water nice and warm, and then bringing it to a boil will be so much quicker. Not necessary by any means, but a good timesaver if you’re in crunch.
For the Pasta
3 tbsp butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
5 carrots, peeled and sliced into quarter-inch disks
1 1/2 c. heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 package of thick noodle pasta like pappardelle (even linguine would be good)
1 c. parmesan cheese
2-3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
Salt & pepper
Start by placing a large skillet (like largest one you own) over medium heat. Add in the butter, letting it melt in the skillet. Next add in the garlic, toast for 1 minute, and then add in the peppers and carrots. Let veggies cook uncovered over medium heat for an additional 10 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. If the veggies are charring, turn down the heat a couple notches. You’re going for a browned and softened vibe…not burnt.
After the veggies have cooked, add in the tomatoes, heavy cream, broth, red pepper flakes, and pinch of both salt and pepper. Bring the liquid up to a simmer, letting it simmer for about 7 minutes and stirring every minute or so. The sauce should thicken up and reduce by about half. Once the cook time is up, decrease the heat to low and cover the sauce.
While the sauce simmers, simultaneously start cooking your pasta by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add in your pasta noodles and cook until they’re al dente. It’s ideal for the noodles to have a slight bite since they’ll continue to cook in the pasta.
When the noodles have finished cooking, ladle in about a quarter of the cooking liquid into the sauce, and proceed to fully drain your pasta. Add the noodles to the skillet with the sauce. Turn the heat back up to medium, bringing the sauce & noodles to a simmer. Once the sauce is simmering, stir in the parmesan and parsley, and continue to stir the sauce letting it simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and let the pasta pasta sit for about 5 minutes.
When the pasta cooled slightly, and is has simply stopped simmering, the pasta sauce should be thick and noodles perfect cooked. Serve it up over a bed of undressed arugula (it tastes so good with the pasta!), or straight up, and finish it with another sprinkle of parmesan for good measure. The most perfect warm bowl noodles, and worth every indulgent bite.
