Smart Recipe Kitchen

2026-03-04

Serves 4 | Total: ~35 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 oz short pasta
• 8 oz Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup pasta water (as needed)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt, pepper, chopped basil

Instructions

1) Blend roasted peppers with cream until smooth; set aside.

2) Cook pasta in salted water; reserve 1/2 cup water.

3) In a skillet, brown sausage in 1 tbsp oil; remove.

4) In same pan, cook onion in remaining oil 3–4 minutes. Add garlic and paprika; cook 30 seconds.

5) Pour in pepper cream and Parmesan; simmer 2–3 minutes. Return sausage and cooked pasta; toss, adding pasta water until silky.

6) Season, top with basil.

Why it works: blended peppers give sweet depth without long simmering; pasta water and Parmesan emulsify into a glossy sauce.