By August. Back to school. Luc: SENIOR YEAR. The last year. The final year of having him in our house as a student, as a child, as a person who lives here instead of visits. Senior year. The words are a countdown, and the countdown started the day he was born and is now in its final stretch, and I am not ready and I never will be and the readiness doesn't matter because time doesn't wait.
Colette: ninth grade, freshman at BR Magnet (following Luc's footsteps). Rémy: sixth grade, middle school. Glasgow Middle, same school Luc and Colette attended, and the teachers there are about to discover what the elementary school already knows: Rémy Beaumont is a force of nature that cannot be contained by a classroom.
Made back-to-school gumbo. The constant. The tradition. Dark roux. Forty-five minutes. The same recipe. The same pot. The same family. One less year of Luc at the table. The countdown is in the gumbo now. The gumbo holds the years like the bayou holds the water: quietly, completely, with the knowledge that the holding is temporary and the temporary is everything.
The gumbo is the ceremony, but the week around it still has to get fed — and that week is a school-night blur of new schedules, new teachers, and one senior who keeps looking at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking. Bell peppers are holy trinity ingredients; they belong to this season as much as the dark roux does. This pasta is faster, louder, and easier than a forty-five-minute roux, and some weeks that’s exactly what the countdown calls for.
Bell Peppers and Pasta
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 12 oz penne or rigatoni pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the peppers. Add all three bell peppers to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften and develop light color at the edges, about 7–8 minutes.
- Build the sauce. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add diced tomatoes with their juices, broth, Italian seasoning, paprika, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Simmer and reduce. Let the sauce simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Combine. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce is too thick. Remove from heat.
- Finish and serve. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Divide among bowls and top with additional Parmesan and fresh basil or parsley.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 55g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 380mg