Vegetable Pepperoni Bolognese

My daughter has been working so hard and such long hours that she hasn't had time to grocery shop and had no food to eat.  So, I got the phone call.  You know the one....I'm starving and I have no food.  I actually was low on food too since today was grocery shopping day so I cleaned out the fridge and made her this pasta. This takes less than 30 minutes to make.

 I diced some celery, carrots, onions and green peppers and sauteed them in a bit of olive oil.  I added about 3 minced cloves of garlic. This sauteed just a few minutes.  Sprinkle in 1 tsp. of oregano and thyme and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add some sliced pepperoni, I used about 1/3 pound.

Next, dump in 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, 3 T. of tomato paste and 1 cube of beef bouillon.

Cook over low heat while you prepare the pasta.

I boiled some rigatoni in salted water for 7 minutes.  Do not overcook the pasta. Save 1 cup of the pasta water.

After draining the pasta, I tossed it with a bit more sliced pepperoni.

Just before mixing the pasta with the sauce, pour in the cup of pasta water and 1/4 cup of cream.  Stir this to blend.

Toss the pasta in the sauce and add about 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

Toss it all together.  The pasta is very hot so it melts the cheese.

Serve it topped with shredded fresh basil.