Wednesday Wind-down: Quick and Easy Pasta with Roasted Peppers

Our reader Orl commented that she’d like to see more quick and easy recipes, the kind that ‘you can rustle up on a Wednesday night’.  So in an excessively literal fashion, every Wednesday, we’ll post a recipe for a quick, easy, inexpensive meal using readily available ingredients.

This is a failsafe for me when I’m feeling tired and uninspired, Orl – I hope you like it!

Tomato Ragu with Roasted Peppers and Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 can tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional, but I think they really improve the sauce and give it a kick)
• Ground black pepper
• 1 red or yellow pepper
• Pasta

Instructions

1. Deseed the pepper, chop it into quarters and place it on a roasting tin with some olive oil. Roast for about 2o mins at 180°, until slightly blackened at the edges.
2. While the pepper is roasting, soften the onion in some olive oil.
3. Add in the tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, basil, optional chilli and black pepper. Simmer the sauce at a medium heat.
4. When the pepper is roasted, chop it into smaller pieces and add to the tomato sauce.
5. Allow the sauce to simmer at a low heat for a little longer while you boil your pasta.  Follow the instructions on the packet – it’ll usually take about 7-10 minutes.
6. Add the sauce to the pasta, grate over some parmesan, and you’re done!

This sauce can be made more substantial with the addition of a grilled and chopped chicken breast.  You could also use a jar of roast peppers if you don’t feel like roasting fresh peppers.  A splash of red wine really enhances the sauce, if you have some handy.  This is great with crusty bread, especially if you have olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip it in.

So what do you think Orl (and everyone else)? Is this quick and easy enough?