Pasta with Bell Peppers and Tomatoes
Ingredients
2 servings
- Long pasta (tagliatelle, fettuccine, linguine, pappardelle, etc.) 200 g
- Water for boiling the pasta 2 l
- Salt for boiling the pasta 14 g (7 g per 1 l of water)
- Small ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes 200 g
- Sweet bell peppers 2-3
- Chili pepper (optional) 1
- Shallots 2
- Garlic 2-3 cloves
- Olive oil 3 tbsp
- Basil 2-3 sprigs
- Salt for the tomatoes to taste
- Parmesan (optional) for sprinkling
Step-by-step recipe
Frying the peppers and shallots
For the pasta to be really good, use vegetables from the garden if you can, especially tomatoes, which have a special aroma. For the sauce we buy a mix of small tomatoes: they are multicolored and have a very pronounced flavor. Any peppers will do, but it is better to buy several varieties, since they differ in taste and aroma. Be sure to add fresh green basil. If you have no shallots, take a red onion, which is always available.
Fry the garlic in oil: heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry the peeled garlic cloves, crushed with the flat of a knife blade. When the garlic starts to darken, throw it away.
Fry the peppers until soft: remove the seeds and stems from the sweet peppers, cut them into narrow strips and fry in this oil until soft. Hot peppers can be left unpeeled and fried whole, which keeps the dish from turning spicy, and fried hot peppers are always a treat.
Add the shallots: peel and cut them into thin strips, add to the peppers and keep frying until the first hints of color appear. If you like, you can fry the onion and peppers longer, as long as the vegetables do not burn.
Cooking the pasta
While the vegetables fry, put a pot with 2 l of water and 14 g of salt on high heat and, when the water boils, cook the pasta until al dente, following the time on the package. Use ready-made store-bought long pasta, similar to noodles.
Frying the tomatoes and combining with the pasta
Fry the tomatoes: transfer the fried vegetables to a plate, pour the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil into the skillet and heat it. Wash the tomatoes and pat them dry, cut each one in half, put them in the skillet and add salt. Stirring often, fry over medium heat until they start to release juice.
Return the fried peppers and shallots to the tomatoes. After 2-3 minutes the pasta sauce is ready.
By now the pasta is ready too: drain it in a colander and toss with the fried vegetables. Tear the green basil leaves with your fingers, add them to the pasta and gently stir.
Serving
Divide the pasta among plates and serve hot. If you like, sprinkle the dish with grated Parmesan. The hot fried peppers can simply be placed on top of the pasta. If you use winter vegetables, the dish will be just as tasty, though not as colorful.
Calories and macros
635 kcal
Serving ≈ 480 g
- Protein16 g11% of kcal
- Fat23 g34% of kcal
- Carbs84 g55% of kcal
100 g133 kcalProtein 3.4 gFat 4.8 gCarbs 17.7 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.