Lumaconi alla crema di peperoni rossi lunghi e Lemon Fusion Pesto N. 2
Lumaconi with a creamy long red pepper sauce and Lemon Fusion Pesto N. 2
Introduction
A simple recipe where the sweetness of long red peppers becomes a smooth, velvety cream, softened by carrot and celery juice. A few diced fresh peppers, added at the end, bring texture, and the pesto adds a fresh, aromatic touch that contrasts with the roundness of the sauce.
Ingredients
Serves 2
For the red pepper cream
- 400 g long red peppers, Turkish type (about 14 oz), of which about 60 g (2 oz) kept aside for the final dice
- 1 red onion (about 100 g / 3½ oz)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 50 ml dry white wine (about 3½ tbsp)
- 1 to 2 tbsp tomato passata (very little)
- 2 ice cubes of carrot and celery juice (about 50 ml / 3½ tbsp)
- 1 pinch of ground thyme
- 1 pinch of ground oregano
- Salt and black pepper
- 50 to 100 ml vegetable stock (about ¼ to ⅓ cup)
To bind the sauce (choose one)
- 10 g beurre manié: 5 g butter kneaded with 5 g flour (about 1 tsp each)
- or 1 tsp arrowroot, mixed with a little cold water
- Optional: 2 to 3 tbsp cream, for those who like it
For the pasta
- 160 g lumaconi (about 5½ oz)
- Salted water for cooking
To finish
- 2 tsp Lemon Fusion Pesto N. 2, or a classic basil pesto
Method
1. Make the peperonata
Cut the red onion, garlic and peppers into pieces, keeping about 60 g of pepper aside. Sauté everything together in the olive oil. When the vegetables start to colour, deglaze with the white wine.
2. Cook gently
Add the passata, just a little, then the carrot and celery juice cubes. Season with salt, pepper, ground thyme and ground oregano. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes, no more.
3. Pass the cream
Remove from the heat. Pass the peperonata through a food mill with the finest disc, then strain it a second time through a fine sieve. You get a smooth, velvety cream.
4. Bind the sauce
Return the cream to the heat and loosen it with a little vegetable stock. Bind it with the beurre manié or the arrowroot. Add the cream if you wish.
5. Add the diced peppers
Cut the peppers kept aside into small dice. Add them to the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes: they keep a little texture and freshness.
6. Cook the pasta
Cook the lumaconi for about 11 minutes in plenty of salted water. Drain them slightly al dente.
7. Finish in the sauce
Add the pasta to the sauce and toss very gently for 2 minutes, so it soaks up the flavours.
8. Plating
Arrange the lumaconi on a warm plate. Place a spoonful of Lemon Fusion Pesto N. 2 in the centre. Serve immediately.
From my kitchen experience
- The sauce is deliberately light on tomato: the red peppers must lead, supported by the sweetness of the carrot juice and the fresh, green note of the celery.
- Choose long peppers rather than round ones: they are sweeter and more fragrant.
- Cream is not needed: the food mill, the sieve and a light binding are enough for a velvety sauce.
- The pesto is the final touch that turns a simple dish into a Mediterranean composition.
Allergens
Contains gluten, celery, sulphites (white wine) and milk (butter, optional cream).
Also check the label of the pesto: it may contain nuts or cheese. With arrowroot instead of beurre manié, the sauce itself contains no gluten or milk.
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