Mixed Roasted Pepper Sauce

I can think of at least two other ways, beyond the one I used last night, to eat this sauce. I mixed mine (which uses 4 bell peppers and 2 chilli peppers) with 200g cooked pasta to make enough to feed four. You could up the the bell pepper for a juicier sauce (which would be good with rice), or the chilli for a spicier one. You could blend the sauce for a salsa to go with tortilla chips, or stuff a chicken with the peppers and pour the rest of the sauce over it for a summery roast.

As mentioned, I used four bell peppers and two chilli peppers, and ended up with a nice pasta-to-pepper ratio. Obviously you can get pepper in more mouthfuls if you chop them beforehand, which is something I only bothered to do for the chillis. What follows is what I chose to do - and the pictures are a pretty accurate representation of the dish as a whole, I didn't pile all of the peppers into one bowl for a photo! - but this is a recipe designed for change. Roast some onion slices with it, or tomatoes.

If you've ever tasted Tesco's own roasted-pepper-filled fresh pasta, this tastes almost exactly the same.

Mixed Roasted Pepper Sauce

(Printable Recipe)

For quantities, see notes above

4 bell peppers (use a mix of colours if possible)

2 chilli peppers

1/2 cup oil

4 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon tomato puree

1 cup water or pasta water

1/2 teaspoon each basil and parsley

Seasoning

Grated cheese to serve

Slice the peppers into thin strips and toss in a roasting tray with about half a cup of oil, or more if you think it's necessary.

Roast in the oven at 200 degrees for thirty to forty minutes, depending on how blackened you want them to be.

In  the meantime, finely chop the garlic and add to a large pan with some oil over a low flame. Once the garlic starts sizzling, add the peppers to the pan, along with all of their roasting juices.

Cook for about a minute before adding the balsamic vinegar, tomato puree, water (or pasta water), herbs and seasoning. Allow this to simmer for two to three minutes more.

If you are serving with pasta, stir the cooked pasta into the mix and allow everything to heat through before serving, topped with grated Parmesan. Otherwise, dollop on top of cooked rice, or cool slightly before blending.