I love pasta. Always have, and always will. Italian food is one of my favorite cuisines and if it weren’t for the effect all those carbs would have on my waistline, I would eat it for every meal. This dish is one of my absolute favorite meals and one that Michael and I take a lot of care in preparing. Homemade pasta from scratch, roasting peppers for the sauce, and hand mixing and rolling meatballs. This is definitely one of our most involved recipes, but it is so worth the final product. Don’t worry though, I will add a couple easier alternatives (like my favorite canned tomatoes) if you want to try the recipe but don’t have as much time to spend in the kitchen.

Starting with the base of the meal is the pasta! It took us a while to master making our own pasta so you can definitely enjoy the sauce and meatballs with some store bought noodles. I recommend rigatoni or linguine to soak up the sauce. If you do want to learn to make homemade pasta though, Michael’s tips for making the dough are below and this is the pasta roller we have.

Next up is our roasted red pepper and tomato cream sauce. This sauce is delicious. Charred red bell peppers add a level of savory heat to this that goes so well with the turkey meatballs. You start with fresh tomatoes and red bell peppers mixed with onions, butter and cream to make a rustic and delicious pasta sauce. We always make extra to top the meatballs and keep for another pasta night. YOu can freeze it and keep it for long term or in the fridge for over a week.  If you are in a pinch for time or patience, you can use canned San Marzano tomatoes and jarred roasted red peppers but it is definitely the best when you cook it all yourself.

Finally, the meatballs! These are my favorite meatballs ever. They aren’t heavy like a traditional Italian meatball with beef and pork or some combination of meats, but they turn out surprisingly juicy and moist for being made of turkey. I can’t take total credit for these meatballs, but I have modified them. They were a recipe that my cousin got from an Italian co-worker that used ground turkey and Jimmy-Dean sausage as the base. Now that my boyfriend doesn’t eat red meat or pork, we changed it up by just using turkey, extra onion and a handful of spices.

The pasta, sauce and meatballs make for the best pasta dinner you’ve had so keep reading to see how to make everything!

** If you are making the pasta, start by making the dough first before the sauce and meatballs so it has time to set, then cut it once the water is boiling and everything else is ready because it only takes a couple minutes for the fresh pasta to cook.

For the Pasta:

• All purpose flour … 2 cups
• Eggs … 2
• Olive Oil … appx 2 tbsp
• Salt … ½ tbsp
• Water … just a splash as needed

To make the pasta:

1. In a mixing bowl, add flour and salt to the bottom of the bowl and work out any lumps with a fork.
2. Make a hole in the flour and add two eggs.
3. Drizzle olive oil over the eggs and flour.
4. Whisk eggs together and slowly work in surrounding flour.
5. Combine until the eggs, oil and flour are crumbly.
6. Add a small amount of water and olive oil and continue working into a ball.
7. Knead dough for a few minutes until it forms into a ball.
8. Leave it in the bowl and cover with plastic for 10 min.
9. PASTA TRICK: Pat the ball of dough into a disk, about 1.5 inches thick and tightly wrap with plastic. The disk gives more surface area to  the dough and it sets up faster.
10. Let the disk of dough set for up to an hour, the longer it sets, the better the dough with roll out and cut into noodles.
11. Set up pasta roller onto counter and sprinkle with flour.
12. Cut the disk into three sections and flatten out with fingers before putting in roller.
13. Run section of the dough through pasta roller at a ticker setting to smooth it out then again through the thinnest setting.
14. After pasta is rolled through thin setting, run it through the pasta cutting section.
15. Be sure to catch the noodles coming through and sprinkle with flour so they don’t stick together
16. TRICK: Use a wire hanger to hang fresh pasta on so it doesn’t stick together.
17. Continue rolling and cutting pasta until all the dough is now pasta.
18. Cook it boiling water for about 2 minutes.

Now for the rest of the meal:

For the sauce:

• Red Bell Peppers … 4 large
• Tomatoes … 8 medium, preferably Roma
• White Onion … 1 medium
• Butter … 2 tbsp
• Olive Oil … 2 tbsp
• Heavy Whipping Cream … ⅓ cup
• Parmesan Cheese … ¼ cup grated
• Salt & Pepper … to taste

To make the sauce:

1. Start by roasting the bell peppers on a grill or grill pan. Place them on a clean surface without any oil and let them char. Flip them every few minutes so they are evenly cooked.
2. Chop up onion and tomatoes.
3. In a large pan heat olive oil and butter.
4. Add tomatoes and onions to the pan and let them cook until soft.
5. Remove charred bell peppers from the grill and let cool before handling.
6. Gently rub off the skin of the bell pepper and remove seeds and stems from the middle.
7. Slice roasted bell peppers into strips and add to the tomato and onions on the stove.
8. Add cream and stir through, allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Remove sauce from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture. You can also use a regular blender but only fill half way at a time so the heat doesn’t expand and make the blender explode open.
10. Add grated parmesan, salt and pepper and mix.
11. Set aside and wait for the pasta and meatballs to be finished.

*** If you want to do a faster version of the sauce, use 1 large can of San Marzano whole tomatoes and simmer with onions, butter and olive oil then add in 1 jar of roasted red bell peppers to the mix and follow the same directions.

For the Meatballs (makes 15 palm sized):

• 93% Lean Ground Turkey … 1 large container
• White Onion … 1 medium
• Eggs … 2
• Italian Breadcrumbs … ½ container, panko style is the best
• Parsley … 1 fresh bunch
• Heavy Whipping Cream or Milk … 3 tbsp
• Olive Oil … 2 tbsp
• Vegetable Oil … if frying
• Salt & Pepper … to taste
• Garlic Powder … ½ tbsp
• Onion Powder … ½ tbsp

To Make:

1. In a food processor or blender, combine roughly chopped onion, olive oil and cream.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add 1 handful of parsley, the eggs, salt & pepper and seasoning and blend.
4. In a large bowl combine ground turkey and the blended mixture. Use your hands to fold everything together.
5. Add about ½ cup of breadcrumbs and see what the consistency is like. ** you want to be able to mold them but not have them too dry.
6. Form meatballs by grabbing a small handful at a time and roll into a ball.
7. Coat the meatball in breadcrumbs by rolling them in the panko and set aside.
8. Follow process until all of the mixture is made.
9. In a frying pan, heat olive oil or vegetable oil and shallow fry the meatballs to give them a crispy crust.
10. Flip them once after about 1 minute and set on a baking sheet to finish cooking in the oven.
11. Bake at  375 degrees F for about 15 minutes.

To serve:

1. Boil noodles and drain in a colander.
2. Add them to  the sauce and stir thoroughly.
3. Serve with a meatball, extra sauce and parmesan cheese!
4. Enoy!

Feel free to try the sauce on its own with store bought noodles, make the meatballs and use a vodka sauce or just use the homemade pasta with your favorite sauce. I love the combination of all three the best, but each component is equally delicious!