cheesy adobo red pepper rigatoni.

I’ll admit I’m usually only into this weekend for the advertising. Long story short - I took a Sports Public Relations course in grad school that soured me on most televised professional sports championships. If you work in advertising or marketing (which I have for basically my entire career), this game is actually a nightmare of hellish work after your first one.

But enough with my crankiness —- big games call for big flavors, and I’m here to deliver!

This recipe actually started as an attempt at a lighter creamy cajun pasta with shrimp (you remember, that one we all used to order at TGI Friday’s when we were skinny enough to consumer a 1,600-calorie meal without a second thought?). To be quite honest - it didn’t turn out that way. Instead I got a really bomb spicy adobo mac-and-cheese style dish, and I’m not mad about that happy accident. It was really easy! Who says nachos are the only way to deliver bold flavor on your game day menu?

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Experiment with your own flavors in this recipe, and tell me what you added! I chose to highlight cilantro, red pepper, and adobo…but I think many other flavors are fair game depending on your level of adventure. Think of this recipe in three major components when planning your pacing in the kitchen:

Sauce: start with a blonde roux in a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan, add the red pepper, and season.
Pasta: boil in salty starchy water (wow…Salt & Starch would’ve been a great name for this blog), and then add to the sauce. Incorporate pasta water gradually so that the pasta is evenly coated and the sauce is glossy.
Bake: We’re baking for texture, not flavor. Add little breadcrumbs and a teeny bit of butter for browning before popping this into the oven. Use 30-second broiler pro-tip before taking it out of the oven for the most Instagrammable brown.

Don’t have a cast iron skillet? Transfer the contents of the non-stick pan into a baking dish. Also, please let me know in the comments if you don’t have a cast iron skillet and would like one! I’ve been thinking about doing an Instagram giveaway and it feels like the perfect gift, especially when the shipping is on me.

Recipe

Cheesey Adobo &
Red Pepper Rigatoni

Servings: 4-6 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes

Recommended Wine Pairing

A young Syrah (Shiraz)

INGREDIENTS

PASTA

16 oz. rigatoni
4 - 6 qt. of salted water
1 tbsp. of semolina flour
1.5 tbsp. of salt

Sauce

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp. flour
1 c. half-and-half
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp. Goya adobo seasoning
1 tsp. hot Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. black pepper
the liquid from 1 small can of adobo peppers
2/3 c. parmesan cheese
1 - 2 tbsp. cilantro, depending on your love for it
1 - 1.5 c. of reserved pasta water

Topping

1 handful of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F.
Boil a pot of salted water with semolina flour to create a starchy water.
Heat a tablespoon of unsalted butter a pan on cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-heat high.
Add crushed garlic to the button and move around for about 1 minute. Turn the heat down to medium.
Whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour. It’s going to look like giant lumps, and that’s okay!
Gradually whisk the half-and-half into the flour/butter/garlic mixture until the lumps are smooth. The texture should be that of a cream sauce. If you need to thin it out, incorporate a little of your pasta water.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as directed on it’s package.
Whisk in the adobo seasoning, hot Hungarian paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper and liquid from the adobo pepper can.
Stir in the bell peppers and cilantro.
Slowly simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. (on my stovetop, this is at medium - but for some gas ranges this may be closer to a ‘low’ heat setting).

Turn the sauce down to very low (it should be very slowly and slightly bubbly). Whisk in the cheese, whisking until fully melted.
Drain the pasta, reserving about 1.5 cups of the pasta water in case you need it for the sauce.
Fold the pasta into the sauce (I find a silicon spatula is the easiest way to do this).
You want the pasta to be even coated and glossy. Adding just a little at a time, stir in as much pasta water as you need to make this happen. Make sure you are fully incorporating the water into the sauce before adding any more to prevent the sauce from separating.
Turn off the heat. If you are using a cast iron skillet, top with butter and breadcrumbs. If you are not using a skillet, transfer to an oven-safe baking dish before adding the topping.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and brown. For extra browning, turn on your broiler for 1-minute before removing from the oven.
Serve and enjoy!