Thursday, April 9, 2009

Pepperoni Pasta

One of the many joys of pasta is your only limit is your imagination or your picky eaters. Don't let picky eaters hold you back!


Did you know that pepperoni isn't just for pizza or cold pasta salads? Throw some in a skillet and brown them up over medium-high heat. Remove and drain on a paper towel, but leave that little bit of pepperoni oil rendered to flavor the rest of your dish.





Add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the skillet, 2 chopped shallots and a handful or two of sliced baby bella mushrooms. Saute until the shallots are wilted and the mushrooms have browned.



I had a couple of sun-dried tomatoes left overin the fridge, so I threw them in the skillet too along with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. While the veggies are cooking, cook and drain 1/2 lb. gemelli pasta.




Once the veggies are sauteed, add 1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup of grated percorino romano cheese into the skillet. Stir to combine. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.




Add your drained pasta to the sauce and toss to coat evenly. Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and some Percorino Romano cheese.

They will fall in love with you because you gave them pepperoni!


38 comments:

JodieMo said...

This looks delicious! And so full of veggies! I bet my toddlers would eat this.

Hornsfan said...

This looks fantastics, it's like a good pizza + pasta :)

Donna-FFW said...

Sounds wonderful, what a unique way to use pepperoni!! It looks so delicious!

gigi said...

You make the simplest of things look so amazing! You're like toss in a handful of this and a pinch of that and Wa-La!! Gourmet!!!!! You're good girl!

Half Baked said...

Sounds yummy. my husband would LOVE this!

gunnypink said...

Recently you advised me on preparing crawfish boudin. One of the ways was to make little balls and fry them in EVOO. That picture caused me to wonder about using those little balls in a spaghetti/pasta sauce. Since I am new to crawfish boudin, I bow to you for direction.
Now, would it be better to use a red sauce or a white sauce? Thank you for being so patient.

Anonymous said...

I'm guilty of being one of those unimaginative ppl who think pepperoni is only for pizzas! wow! what a fab dish!

Treehouse Chef said...

This looks so incredible that I don't even have the words. Let me just say I am stealing the recipe!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Oh, how good this looks! Fantstic!

teresa said...

AWESOME idea! This looks amazing, I can practically smell it now!

Pam said...

It looks heavenly! I love all the ingredients used.

Aggie said...

Oh my, I LOVE this Katherine!!!

Greg C said...

I am coming to visit. Have this dish ready please. I am going to make this one soon.

Cathy said...

I would never have thought to use pepperoni this way. A great idea and a beautiful dish. Who wouldn't love it?

Anonymous said...

Holy Smokes! this looks dee-lish!
Now I'm craving Italian... and reading on, I know what to do with the extra large sweet potatoes Eve selected at the market!

Jennifer said...

Wow, my husband would fall in love with me all over again if I made him this! Great idea!

Marjie said...

Well, I'm pretty sure my boys would like this. They're pretty sure everything would be improved by bacon, unless it's pepperoni.

Cathy said...

Yum! We love pepperoni, and we love pasta, so this is the perfect combination of the two. This will show up at dinner sometime soon for sure!

Heather @ Simple Wives said...

My fiance would love that...I'll have to give it a try!

Jennifer said...

That looks so good!

I love pepperoni!!

I sometimes take pepperoni and microwave it for about 20 seconds until its crispy to put on salads, or just eat as a snack!! So good!

The Blonde Duck said...

All I can do is drool with envy.

priscilla joy said...

Wow! This looks so flavorful and delicious! Yummy!

Bunny said...

This sounds fantastic, talk about thinking outside the box!!!

Anonymous said...

sounds delicious!!

Anonymous said...

This sounds absolutely delicious. You are awesome!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Mmmm, that looks awesome! My kids will love it! You make the yummiest things!

XOXO
Jen

Lyndas recipe box said...

This looks good! I think my whole family will like this one!They love pepperoni and I love all things pasta.

Reeni said...

I bet the pepperoni livens it up! It looks so creamy and delicious! How creative!

NKP said...

yummy! I have never thought about putting pepperoni in a pasta before, what a great idea!

LK- Healthy Delicious said...

whoa. this looks awesome!might be dangerous for me...I think I'd eat in all in one sitting!

Laurie said...

Pepperoni and pasta - my son would think he died and went to heaven (of course I'd have to pick the mushrooms out of his).

It was so fun to see your artichoke break on Dawn's blog! It's like living in a small, very friendly village.

Love the bunny in the fridge! Thanks for sending it. Perfect foodie joke.

Elyse said...

Oh my goodness does this look delicious!! I love that you sauteed the mushrooms in the pepperoni oil!! I could definitely eat some of this pasta for dinner right now!

MaryBeth said...

WOW..the flavor you must get out of that. Your entire dish is amazing.

Coleens Recipes said...

Looks delicious!!

Chris said...

What a perfectly put together dish! I love it and am pretty sure my fam is going to love this one!

Here via: For The Love of Cooking.

Netts Nook said...

What a great idea Katherine it works for me. Looks delicious.

pam said...

This sounds so good!

Jude said...

The rendered grease from the pepperoni must be great on pasta. great idea!