This Fettuccine with Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Buttermilk Sauce was a rarity in my household... something my daughter and I both ate (well, it didn't quite start that way, there was some drama first). We are both fussy characters. I'm decidedly finicky about what goes in my meals and she has strong textural and flavor preferences due to her autism. Typically, I would toss together some of the fettuccine in an Asian sauce with peanut butter, to make my daughter her fave "Chinese Noodles", and make whatever I wanted in another pan. This time I tossed all the pasta into the creamy red pepper sauce. It wasn't spicy. She could try it at least. At first the plate was greeted with tears and a bit of wailing. I am guessing when she saw the pasta on the stove she must have looked forward to her standard fare. I told her all she had to do was try it, and if she didn't like it, I would make her something else... but she had to just try it. The drama went on for a little longer. Eventually, we ended out on the couch. After she had snuggled up and calmed down, she suddenly got up went to the table, sat in front of her plate, poked around at it a bit, then pulled out a long noodle and sampled it... then another, and another. The drama was over, and she scoffed down almost the entire plate of pasta. We went through a similar drama over Nutella a few weeks ago. The first time she was confronted with it, it just wasn't the peanut butter she expected, so it threw her for a loop. She went back and tried it on her own later, then proceeded to haunt me for it for days.
I use buttermilk in my cooking a lot. It is rich and flavorful without adding the high fat & calories of cream. Although in this recipe the butter and goat cheese push those numbers back up a bit, they would have probably gone into a cream based version anyway. The sweet red pepper adds a hefty dose of vitamins A & C, along with plenty of B6 and folate. The peppers also help keep the calorie count reasonable.
Fettuccini in Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Buttermilk Sauce
Print Pin RateIngredients
- ½ lb. fettuccini cooked al dente
- 2 large roasted red peppers with juices de-seeded
- 1 cup low fat buttermilk
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves
- 3 tbs grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- ½ tbs olive oil
- 1 large clove of garlic minced
- 1 tbs butter
- 2 oz. goat cheese
- fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Puree peppers and buttermilk in blender. Add basil and Parmesan and pulse until the basil is chopped.
- Saute the garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft.
- Add the red pepper mixture, butter and goat cheese.
- Simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, by that point the goat cheese will be dissolved.
- Grind a few turns of black pepper into the sauce, then fold in the fettuccini, until fully coated.
- Serve with grated Parmesan or crumbled goat cheese and top off with a little chopped basil if you like.
Nutrition
Nichol says
My kids dislike any red sauce besides regular old sauce with meatballs, but I would absolutely LOVE this. So simple as well.
April Golightly says
This looks awesome. I am pinning for future use. 🙂
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Mmmmmm, roasted red peppers. I'm in!
Tammy says
So glad Miss Fussy tried it for you 🙂 Hopefully she'll try things more easily in the future. My daughter has food texture issues too, and as she's gotten older it's been easier to get her to try new foods.
This is a meal that I think everyone in our home would eat - we love pasta and a little bit more heavier of a sauce than just marinara.
Jenn says
Looks amazing! I'm a pasta fanatic.
Penelope (NYC Blogger) says
Looks very yummy Robin
Angela says
This looks so rich, creamy, and delicious!
Marcie W. says
We are a house full of goat cheese lovers so I look forward to trying this sauce over our usual quinoa pasta.
Maryann says
your recipes always look so good.
leah- diaries of a domestic goddess says
Ooh I definitely pinned this to try later! My husband would love this!
BerryRipe says
OMG this looks amazing! You are welcome to guest post on BerryRipe anytime!
Paula @ Frosted Fingers says
This looks really good!! I pinned it to give it a try
Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins says
Yum! I'm definitely making this tomorrow.