Baked Cavatappi with Roasted Peppers and Capocollo

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Good evening ladies and gentlemen!  Tonight we bring you "Date Night and Dinner Parties".  Saturday nights have always been reserved for couples, in my world.  Whether it is going out just you and your sweetie or doing something as a couple with other friends, like dinner parties this night has always been thought of as couple's night.  So, for this couples night I bring you a fabulously rich and decadent baked pasta dish.  I found the recipe in Fine Cooking. slightly adapted it.  Although there is a lot of room for variation. 

We love different pasta shapes so cavatappi made me happy in this dish.  Use whatever makes you happy, be it penne or fusilli or rotini.  If you prefer use prosciutto or ham in place of the capocollo.   The pecorino can be switched out for parmesan cheese.  Such an easy dish that offers so much flavor and fun!  Buon appetito!

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking.
 

Baked Cavatappi with Roasted Peppers and Capocollo  

Olive oil

1 pint size jar of Red Roasted Peppers, drained
1 large onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

one 14-1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1/3 lb. very thinly sliced capocollo, chopped

1-1/2 cups fresh ricotta cheese

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

Pinch nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1 pound cavatappi

1/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

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Heat the oven to 425°F. Lightly coat a large, shallow baking dish with olive oil. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large skillet, heat about 2 Tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften. Add the peppers, season with salt and pepper, and sauté
until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the capocollo.  Mix and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, cream, and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.  Cook the cavatappi until al dente. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the grated Pecorino with the breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil. Mix well.  Drain the pasta well and return it to the pot. Add the pepper mixture and toss. Add the ricotta mixture and toss again, tasting for seasoning.

Pour the pasta into the baking dish. Top with an even coating of the breadcrumb mixture and a drizzle of fresh olive oil.

Bake uncovered until browned and bubbling, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve right away.

COOKS NOTE:  If you want to roast your own peppers, roast 3 to 4 peppers by turning them
over the flame of a gas burner until the skins are charred or by putting them under a broiler, turning until all sides are well blistered. Peel off the skins, core and seed the peppers, and cut the flesh into thin strips.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - The Slow Roasted Italian.com

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