Rigatoni with roasted red bell pepper and Italian sausage

News flash: I’m going to eliminate the numbering of the different steps in recipes. I don’t see the point. After all, the paragraphs are sequential, so why number them? Besides, it’s just possible we’re allotted only a certain number of typed numbers in our lives, and I don’t want to expend my entire allotment. Then again, that’s a bit too supernatural for me. Some one or some thing would have to be doing the allotments, right? Not at all likely. I’m still dispensing with the numbering, though.

This recipe is very easy to put together, particularly if you buy jarred roasted red bell peppers. I’ve pan-browned, roasted, and broiled bell peppers, and I fail to taste any advantages of doing this oneself. The smoked pimiento powder lends a wonderful flavor to what would be an otherwise good but prosaic sauce. Italian sausage is commonly found in either “sweet” or spicy forms. Your call. 

1 12-16 oz jar roasted red bell peppers, drained (or do it yourself)

½ lb rigatoni

Onion, 1 cup, chopped

Garlic, 1-2 tsp minced

Smoked pimiento powder, 1 Tbs

Salt and pepper

Heavy cream, 1 cup or more

Italian sausage, either sweet or spicy, (½ lb), meat removed from the casings

Marsala, ¼ cup

Fresh yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, minced or finely chopped

Goat cheese

Red chile pepper flakes (optional)

Put in a food processor the roasted red bell peppers, the smoked pimiento, and heavy cream. Puree and add salt and pepper. 

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and brown the sausage. After it’s browned and brown bits appear on the bottom of the skillet, add the optional chile flakes, turn the heat to high, pour in a quarter cup or so of Marsala, scrape up the flavor-enhancing browned bits, and continue cooking until the liquid is almost gone. Drain and put the meat in a bowl. If you leave behind a small amount of liquid, that's fine.

Put another teaspoon of olive oil in the skillet and sauté the onion and garlic, but don’t allow the garlic to brown. Return the meat to the skillet and add the red bell pepper sauce, and keep it warm. 

Quickly saute the yellow bell pepper.

I'm assuming the pasta has been cooked and drained at this point. Return it to the pot and mix. Put the pasta mixture on plates, scatter the yellow bell pepper bits over all, and place a good chunk of the goat cheese atop.