Healthy Pfizer Recipes

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Shrimp
by Jane Wright

This recipe is incredibly flexible, you can use any kind of pasta and you can use scallops or cut-up chicken breast in place of the shrimp. You can also just use the sour cream/red pepper sauce straight from the blender seasoned with a little salt and pepper as a cold dip for a veggie tray.

By using light sour cream, the fat content of this dish is less than what you would expect for a creamy pasta dish. The whole wheat pasta adds some fiber to your diet and helps with the goal to eat more whole grains.

If you roast several peppers ahead of time and keep them in the freezer along with frozen shrimp, this is a meal you can make in the amount of time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta. You have to try this!

Ingredients
16 ounces whole wheat penne pasta

2 whole red peppers, roasted (can be roasted ahead of time)

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon garlic, pressed in garlic press

1 pound large frozen shrimp, thawed (16-20 count, with shells removed)

1 16-ounce carton light sour cream

Yields
6 Servings

Instructions
To roast peppers:
Cut peppers in half, remove seeds and stem. Place on foil-covered baking sheet and flatten with hand. Broil until skin is black and blistered, remove from broiler and wrap loosely in the foil until cool to the touch. Remove the skin; it slips off easily once they have cooled. Do not rinse the red peppers. (Note: This can be done ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a day or two. You can make extras and freeze them in individual zip-top bags.)

Cook pasta according to directions and drain. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in large skillet. Add garlic and shrimp and sauté until opaque and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.

While shrimp and pasta are cooking, place the roasted peppers in a blender. Puree, then add sour cream and blend in. When shrimp is cooked, stir in sour cream mixture and remove from heat as soon as the mixture is warm. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sour cream and shrimp mixture with cooked penne pasta and serve. We like to pass freshly grated parmesan around the table to top the pasta.