Quick Roasted Pepper Pasta

If you have followed along so far, you probably know I am not a very patient cook. Which makes it kind of hard to grill peppers the traditional way – you know, the way cookbooks tell you to halve them, drizzle olive oil, then slowly roast them in the oven. My quick and dirty way to get roasted peppers is to roast them straight on the stovetop.

Just in case you grew up in north India and saw your mother roast aubergines for baingan bhartha, you know what I am talking about. If you didn’t, it’s a skill that’s easy to master even though it sounds scary at first. Spear your pepper on a knife and roast it straight on a flame, rotating every few seconds until its charred. Let it cool, then peel. Took me less than a minute to get to lovely roasted red pepper when I decided to make pasta.



Now that you have the peppers, start by peeling and pureeing two tomatoes. Also chop an onion lengthwise. Heat olive oil and sauté onions until they are soft. Now pour in a tsp of vinegar and quickly heat to evaporate. Add tomato puree and chopped peppers. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, boil your pasta al dente. Your sauce should be done by the time the pasta is. Drain the pasta, and mix in with the sauce.