It was one of those cold, dreary March days, the kind that forces you to keep reminding yourself it’s spring.
Wrapped in one of my winter sweaters at work, I was listening to a co-worker tell me about a situation she’d gotten involved in the day before. And it just so happened the situation took place at an Italian restaurant.
“What’d you eat?” I interrupted.
By now, most people know I will disregard the point of their story once they mention food. I always have to know what they ate.
“Pasta,” she said, diving right back into the heart of her tale.
I raised an eyebrow. “Pasta and what?”
“What?” she asked. She was trying to build some drama into her story — and I was definitely getting in her way.
“What was on the pasta?” I asked. “You didn’t just eat plain pasta did you?”
“No … there was sauce on it,” she said. She opened her mouth to continue.
“Red or white?”
She sighed. “Red.”
“Was it tomato?”
“I think so,” she said. “Yeah, I’m sure it was some kind of tomato sauce. It was delicious.”
She finished her story, and I walked away with my head full of spaghetti thoughts.
It would be the perfect dinner on this cold, comfortless day.
I stopped off at Wegmans on my way home. I still had no idea what I was going to make. Yes, it would be pasta — but spaghetti? Tomato sauce? No … I wanted something different.
I poked around the produce section and saw some gorgeous red bell peppers. Without thinking, I popped three of them in a plastic bag.
Then I grabbed a red onion, parsley and some garlic (because what else do you do when you’ve just put 3 red bell peppers in your cart?).
Then I found a box of mezze penne (baby penne) and a baguette ciabatta. (Obviously a cross between a baguette and ciabatta. I don’t know if this is a Wegmans specialty or a universal bread, but either way, I figured I couldn’t go wrong.)
Back home, I had to make a quick decision. It was already going on 6. Should I work out? If I did and then began cooking, I wouldn’t be eating until 7:30 the earliest. Probably more like 8 o’clock.
“Forget the workout,” Maddie told me. “You walked me for an hour this morning anyway. That has to count for something.”
Sometimes, my dog has indisputable logic. I skipped the workout.
And here’s the recipe — perfect for cold, dreary nights or any time you want to make life a little bit more comfortable.
Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Roast the peppers: Core, seed and slice 3 red bell peppers into large pieces — 3-4 per pepper. Rub the pepper slices all over with extra virgin olive oil and spread skin-side-up on an oiled baking sheet. Crush 2-3 large garlic cloves over the peppers and place in the oven about 20-25 minutes, until peppers are charred.
Put the blackened peppers in a brown paper bag for 5-10 minutes, closing up the bag (just loosely roll the top).
Remove the peppers and slide off the skin.
Into a food processor, toss:
- the roasted peppers
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- sprinkling of dried basil
- sprinkling of dried oregano
- a few turns from your pepper grinder
Process the mixture, adding enough chicken broth or vegetable stock to give it the consistency you like. (Yes, I admit to using chicken broth. I was starving and I had a small can in my cupboard.)
You may feel the need to season with salt. I don’t use any.
Serve over cooked penne with a lot of parmesan cheese.
And for complete indulgence: Slice your baguette ciabatta in half, spread with unsalted butter and crush some garlic over it. Run under the broiler until brown and bubbly.
Enjoy!
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