Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo

This delicious dish comes from Lauren's Latest, a blog that I follow (see the side bar if you are interested in checking out her blog).  I have made this many times and it never fails to disappoint!  It is a great choice if you are looking for a dish for company and/or a special occasion.
You can make this with regular or gluten-free pasta.

You begin by roasting two red peppers.  However, if you want to save on time, you can simply purchase a jar of roasted peppers and skip this step.

You can roast the peppers in a regular oven or a toaster oven, using heat of about 500 degrees F.  Bake 20-30 minutes, until they start to blacken.  

Remove from the oven, cover with tin foil, and let cool

While the red pepper is roasting, dice up an onion, add 2 cloves of garlic (minced), and saute in 2 Tb. olive oil over medium heat for 7 minutes, or until browned.

Once the peppers are cool, remove the skin, cut the peppers open and discard the seeds and stem, and chop peppers into large pieces.  Set aside.

Once the onions and garlic are nicely browned, add 1 cup of light cream, 4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese, and salt and pepper (to taste).

Stir to melt goat cheese and keep warm on low heat

Add peppers, 2/3 grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, and artichoke hearts (if using).  Stir to melt the cheese and remove from heat.

Pour sauce into food processor and process until smooth or use a hand blender.  Pour over hot pasta.  Sprinkle extra parmigiano reggiano cheese and parsley or chopped green onions, if desired.

Ingredients:

2 whole red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free or light half & half cream
4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese
2/3 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup artichoke hearts (optional)
1/2 lb. linguine or other pasta, cooked to al dente
salt & pepper, to taste

Makes 4 servings